The Delinquent Cooper
by FireFlamerx9z
Summary: (Adoption Drama: Story 2) Suave Ladies Man, Master Thief. Those were some of the titles Sly Cooper expected to have when he became a thief like the rest of his ancestors. The title loving father was something he had not planned for this early. But a chance meeting and rescue of a little boy changed not only his life, but the lives of those closest to him. (I own nothing!)
1. A Chance Meeting

**Hello beautiful people of the internet! So as promised, new year=new story! This time, we head to Paris, France(Yes, that is where Sly and co live) and see what Duncan will get up to with them as his family. Oh, and before I begin, I have been getting a lot of questions asking the same question. Because they are going to a world where there are no humans(or in one case, humans are extinct), will Duncan, Dawn, Sammy/Samey, and Owen stay humans or change. To answer that, they all will stay human(mostly human in one case). Anyways, let's begin.**

* * *

A sixteen year old Sly Cooper jumped from building to building. He, along his friends Bentley and Murray had finally been allow to leave the orphanage they had spent most of their lives in. As soon as they got out, Sly began his family's trade, thievery, which had be cataloged in a book known as the The Thievius Raccoonus. Or at least it should be, the pages had been stolen by the same people who were the reason Sly was in the orphanage, as they also murdered this parents. With a grunt, Sly forced that memory out of his mind. He was looking for a lead to the those people along with trying to remember what his father had taught him about being a thief.

"You've been really quiet, Sly," Bentley pointed out over the comlink, snapping Sly out of his thoughts.

"Huh, oh I'm fine, Bentley," Sly replied. "Just trying to remember what my dad taught me about thieving,"

"Well, well, well, looky what we have here!" A thug said from a nearby ally. Sly, curious, leaned down from the rooftops to see what was going on.

And he did _not_ like what he was seeing.

Around five thugs had cornered a little boy in the ally, and judging by their expressions and the boy's fear, whatever they wanted with him was not pretty. Acting on instinct, Sly leaped into the ally. Admittedly, that wasn't his greatest move, but thanks to the element of surprise, he was able to catch the much bigger thugs off guard. With in five minutes, all of the thugs were on the ground, unconscious. Sly was panting as he turned to face the boy he had just saved. He was around five at most with nothing but a black shirt and black pants, not even shoes. His hair matched his clothes and his eyes were a bright blue. He slowly walked over to Sly before wrapping his arms around him.

"Thank you," The boy said in a quiet voice. Sly smiled as he picked the boy up. He moved them up to the roof.

"What were you doing out here?" Sly asked him. The boy started to tear up.

"I don't know! I just saw those guys in front of me! I don't even think I know my parents!" He panicked. Sly quickly knelt gave the boy a hug, calming him down a little.

"Shhhh. It's gonna be okay, you're gonna be okay," Sly assured him before standing up again. The boy let go, but stayed close to Sly.

"Can I go with you?" The boy asked. This took Sly aback a little. It was clear this little boy was an orphan, much like Sly. Sly remembered what that life was like. No family, getting picked on, crying yourself to sleep.

"Sure thing," Sly replied. This earned him another hug.

"My name is Duncan!" The boy replied. Sly just realized he never learned the boy's name.

"Okay then, Duncan, let's get back to-" Sly began to say, only for an electric blast to hit the roof they were standing on. Duncan raced back behind Sly, who noticed the shooter.

"Sly Cooper! Thought I would catch you around here!" Carmelita Fox, a new Interpol officer and fellow orphan. Back in their orphanage days, Carmelita was the "cop" to Sly's "robber", always trying to get him, along with Bentley and Murray, in trouble for stealing the cookies. She never succeeded. Normally, Sly wouldn't mind a chase, but with Duncan already pretty spooked, Sly knew he had to defuse the situation.

"Look, Carmelita, I'm going back to my hideout. I had plans for the night, but I scrapped them," Sly explained. Carmelita lowered the shock pistol, but kept on her guard.

"And why should I believe you?" She demanded, only for Duncan to start whimpering. Sly moved a little, allowing Carmelita to see just who she had freaked out. Carmelita was well known for being able to ignore her emotions, it was the reason that she was the youngest Interpol officer at only seventeen, but one look at the whimpering 5 year old, along with the thugs in the ally, caused Carmelita to drop the pistol, tears in her eyes.

"I was going to bring him back to the hideout," Sly told her. Carmelita nodded.

"I'm coming," Carmelita ordered. "To make sure you don't do anything bad to him!" Sly nodded as he picked Duncan up. Sly knew the real reason was because she felt bad for scaring Duncan.

"Fine, but you can't tell anyone the location," Sly said as he started the path back.

* * *

"HIGHER!" Duncan laughed as he hung off Murray's arm. After they were filled in, Bentley and Murray were more then happy to take Duncan in. Duncan himself seemed to like Bentley and Murray quite a bit. As for Carmelita, both were a little nervous, but Sly said the only way he agreed to let her come. Duncan also seemed to have warmed up to Carmelita, but he seemed to prefer hanging off Murray at the moment, giving Carmelita the chance to talk to Sly and Bentley. Because they all had one question.

"He seems to be some type of sapien," Bentley explained. "Just a more….evolved version,"

"That still doesn't explain why he is here and why he literary no memory of anything!" Carmelita pointed out.

"Still, he seems to like it here and if all those thugs were after him for something, chances are someone is interested in him," Sly noted. As Carmelita and Bentley started to think about who could be looking for a five year old, they got a bit of a shock.

"Mom! Dad! Uncle Bentley! Watch this!" Duncan called out. As the three turned to face him and Murray, Duncan grinned. "You ready, Uncle Murray?"

"Let's do it!" Murray cheered. Duncan began to swing back and forth, before suddenly flipping himself onto Murray's arm, making it so he was standing on it.

"Ta dah!" Duncan said as he hopped of his uncle's arm before bowing, causing Sly, Carmelita, Bentley and Murray to start clapping.

* * *

A half a hour later, Duncan had worn himself down and was now passed out on the couch, a blanket draped over him and using Sly's lap as a pillow.

"Okay, so it's clear he already views us as his parents," Sly began.

"And uncles!" Murray pointed out.

"And uncles, and I see no reason not to take him in," Sly continued. "But the big problem is that someone may want him for something. Keep in mind that he is possibly the only type of that creature on the planet."

"I can't believe I'm about to say this," Carmelita groaned. The boys turned to face her. "Raise him as a thief. He will be safe if he stays with you three. After all, if I couldn't catch you, I doubt anyone else could,"

"Um, okay?" Sly replied, still a little shocked.

"I, however, want to spend some time with him as well. As his mother, I feel I deserve some time with my son," Carmelita offered with a smile.

"You already let this mother go to your head, haven't you?" Sly asked. Carmelita rolled her eyes.

"Well, Murray already let Duncan call him an uncle and you seem to have let being a dad go to your head," Carmelita pointed out as she stood up to leave making sure she had all of her belongings. Before she fully closed the door, she took one last look at Duncan, who had wrapped his arms around Sly and was now smiling. Sly was smiling as well as he shut his eyes, falling asleep as well.

* * *

 **And Duncan gets a much less warm welcome then Gwen. At least he gets an awesome father, mother, and uncles out of it! So why Duncan and Sly?(I know I did this at the end of Gwen's shut up) Believe it or not, this was the story that inspired this series because Duncan fit with Sly so much. Duncan in TD canon is more of a thug, but he still a criminal so I thought it would be interesting to see him become a calm, suave master thief like his father. Anyways, see you all next time, FireFlamerx9z, out!**


	2. Learning the Ropes

**Okay, so after last time's emotional chapter, this is gonna be a more light-hearted one. If you couldn't tell from the title, all it is, is Duncan learning some of the thief skills from Sly, Bentley, and Murray along with messing with them a bit. Also, some time has passed from the first chapter, partly because I can't think of any other filler after to put between this chapter and next one.**

* * *

Sly couldn't help but smile at his son. Duncan had the biggest smile(revealing a few teeth that had fallen out) on his face as he looked over the obstacle course Sly had laid out for him. It had been two years since they taken Duncan in( **He's Seven)** and he was finally old enough to start learning how to steal, much to his joy. Duncan's outfit was now a mirror of Sly's, complete with mask and hat. Duncan had made a bit of a fuss over it, but Sly said that when he was older, he could make it whatever he wanted. The only real different was Duncan was wearing pants and that the hook on the Cooper Cane he was holding was silver inside of gold and due to Duncan being too small to hold it at full lenght, Bentley had made it some that that cane was retractable and Duncan could change the size at will. Sly had let Duncan pick the color so that they wouldn't be the exact same.

"Okay, so what do I do?" Duncan asked. Sly pointed at a starting mark.

"You are gonna to watch me do every obstacle and try your best to repeat it," Sly explained to him. "After you think you know what you are doing, you are going to run the whole thing by yourself,"

"Got it!" Duncan said. With that, Sly was off. Truth be told, Sly only knew the bare bones of what a Cooper thief could do(again, Thievius Raccoonus theft), but he sure wasn't planning to tell Duncan that. The first obstacle was just jumping over some ledges, which got taller with every one. Duncan was able to jump over them, although he did stumble a bit on the last one. The second obstacle was bit harder. Dodging lasers, which thankfully, were yellow to start. Duncan was quick to pick up on the fact that touching the laser was a _very_ bad idea. He was able to cross with ease, but Sly stopped him and pointed to an alarm.

"If you did trip the lasers, the alarm would go off and the lasers would turn red and they would hurt if you touched them," Sly explained, causing Duncan to nod.

"Don't touch lasers, got it," Duncan said before smashing the alarm.

"Seems like you learn fast!" Sly marveled before heading to the next obstacle, a narrow walkway attached to a wall. Sly inched along the wall, holding his cane to his chest. Duncan repeated the action, only to fall off onto some pillows on the floor.

"I'm okay!" Duncan yelled out as he climbed up the ladder back to the obstacle. Sly laughed, he knew exactly what Duncan did wrong.

"Don't look or lean forward on that, just keep looking towards the finish," Sly told him. Duncan nodded and managed to clear it.

"I did it!" Duncan cheered.

"Well done," Sly said before leading Duncan over to a final area. There were thirty bottles lying around. "These are called Clue Bottles. If you pick up all of them, you will get a code to open a safe," Sly then pointed at a safe on the side. "Open that, and you can be done for the day,"

"Got it!" Duncan cheered. He quickly began smashing the bottles. The main thing Sly was looking at was to see if Duncan could make the jumps and make it across the walkway. Sure enough, the kid was able to pull it off perfectly. After getting the last Clue Bottle, Duncan pieced together the clues and opened the safe. Inside was a still warm pizza.

"Yes!" Duncan cheered as he grabbed the box the pizza was inside. He then gave Sly a hug. "Thanks dad!" As Duncan raced off to his room, he didn't noticed Sly's massive grin.

* * *

 **Three days later**

* * *

"Hey! Where's my ice cream?!" Murray yelled out. The special lock box/freezer combo Murray slashed his ice cream in had been broken into.

"Can you please be quiet!? My favorite show is on!" Duncan snapped, a tub of ice cream in his hand. As soon as Murray, Bentley and Sly began staring at him, Duncan realized he still had Murray's ice cream in his hand. With a groan, he handed it back along with the key he had.

"Hey, how did you get the key?" Sly asked.

"Yeah, normally, Murray never takes it of his person," Bentley added. Duncan smirked.

"Well…."

* * *

 _Flashback_

" _Um, Duncan?" Murray called into the training area._

" _Yeah?" Duncan asked as he climbed back down a pole Sly had set up. Climbing was something he had been struggling with and Duncan really wanted to get good at it._

" _Sly said it's time to come in, it's gonna rain later," Murray explained._

" _Fine," Duncan moaned as he followed Murray back inside. However, Duncan had been wanting to try pickpocketing for a while and, when he was sure Murray wasn't paying attention, grabbed the key to his ice cream safe from his pocket with his cane._

* * *

"Okay, you really are a fast learner," Sly was forced to admit. It reminded him of his younger self. Sly had always wondered why thief training didn't start until you were seven, seeing as you were suppose to hand done the book when the kid was between eight-ten. But eh.

"Told ya, also, how come Uncle Murray doesn't have to share with the rest of us?" Duncan asked.

"Because then there would be none left for the rest of us," Bentley pointed out.

"Good point," Duncan admitted.

"On another topic, I found out where some files on the members of the Fiendish Five are!" Bentley announced. Duncan got excited. He knew Sly had lost his family to the Fiendish Five, even if took him awhile to understand….and about three hours to calm down from his hysterical crying. Plus, it would Duncan could finally make an attempt at stealing.

"Where are they?" Duncan asked.

"In Carmelita's office," Bentley explained. Duncan felt his heart sink. He _really_ didn't like having to steal from his mother, but Duncan knew that they needed the files. As such, he resigned himself to letting Sly steal them.

* * *

 **Duncan just can't win in this world, can he? Trust me, next chapter will be mostly Duncan with his mother and then, time to begin the first game!**


	3. A Day At the Fair

**Bloodyninja88- Yeah, when Sly offered to let Carmelita come, he was mostly trying to defuse a fight and not freak Duncan out even more. Also unlike with Gravity Falls, where I head to wait a little while for Gwen to grow up and for Dipper and Mabel to even be born, it's confirmed Sly was 18 during the events of the first game, so it would have only be a two year gap.**

 **So as promised, one last chapter and then it's off to the first game! Not much else to say other then let's begin!**

* * *

Despite the fact he knew his mom was going to be really mad at him and his father later, Duncan couldn't help but smile as his mom lead him inside a large carnival. Almost instantly, the smell of junk food that he would probably have gotten himself sick on filled his nostrils.

"I hope you know you can't steal anything here," Carmelita joked with her son as she ruffled his hair.

"I know mom," Duncan said, playfully rolling his eyes. "Is the ring toss an exception? Dad told me it's rigged," Carmelita rolled her eyes back.

"No, it's still stealing," Carmelita chastised him.

"Fine," Duncan mopped, only to start laughing as he ran over to a water shooting game. It was clear he wanted to try and match his mother's shooting skills. A few other families came over and Carmelita sat down next to Duncan. She paid the fees for them and the game began. Naturally Carmelita won easily, but what impressed her was that Duncan also did very well, seeing as he was able to not only keep the gun on the target, but nearly win himself.

"How did you do so well?" Carmelita asked in a whisper.

"I…...don't know," Duncan was forced to admit before pointing at a large stuffed snake, "Since you won, can I have that?"

"Sure," Carmelita said as she pointed to the snake. The man behind the counter nodded before handing Duncan the snake. Clearly, he knew who it was for.

"Thank you!" Duncan said to the man. Carmelita sighed with relief. At least Sly was teaching Duncan something of manners. Then again, Sly had always been something of a gentleman. Key word was something.

"I think I see a booth with dragons in it," Carmelita said as she pointed to a basketball game. Sure enough, there were stuffed dragons hanging overhead along with a bunch of basketballs. Duncan raced over to it.

"Ugh, I don't know which one I want!" Duncan complained as he looked over two of the prizes. One with a black dragon with green eyes **(spot the reference?)** and the other was a black basketball with a flame pattern on it **(again, spot the reference?)**.

"Well, then it's your lucky day, kiddo!" The man working the booth said as he held up three normal basketball. "Today only, if you can shoot the ball through the hoop and still land it in the basket, you can pick two prizes!" After hearing that, Duncan looked at his mom and gave her the biggest pair of puppy dog eyes he could muster. Despite trying to resist, Carmelita quickly gave in and paid for two balls. She got it through the hoop and in to the basket on her first try. The man was shocked, before handing Duncan the dragon and ball he wanted. Carmelita already knew that the game was most likely rigged to be near unbeatable.

"You are the best, mom!" Duncan cheered as he hugged his mother's legs. Carmelita just smiled.

* * *

About five hours later, Duncan hadn't seen anything else he wanted to try. As such, he had mostly just gone on the rides(with Carmelita having go with him on most of them). However, Carmelita noticed something. It was a laser hallway type game. Admittedly, she was a little curious to see how Duncan's thief training had been coming along.

"Hey, Duncan, look at that," She said, pointing to the laser maze.

"That looks awesome!" Duncan cheered. He handed his three prizes to his mother and jumped into line for the lasers. Thankfully, he was in the group about to go in. As Duncan walked in, Carmelita turned to face some TV screens set up. Each kid had been taken to a separate hallway.

"Listen up!" The instructor told the kids via a loudspeaker. "There are 5 rounds, each round, the lasers while become harder to move around. If you make it to the end, you move on. Winner gets unlimited plays on all games in the arcade for life," The was when Carmelita realized it. The game was rigged. That's why the prize was so high. She then grinned, if Duncan had been trying with Sly, maybe he could be the first winner?

"Come on, Duncan, you got this," Carmelita mumbled under her breath. The game then began. Just like the man said, the first room was really easy. Most of the lasers could be just stepped over or ducked under. Sure enough, no kid was cut. They turned back around and the lasers changed position. Now some had to have more complex movements to get around. Still only three kids failed and Duncan was the first one done. Round three introduced lasers that moved up and down, requiring fast movement. Nearly half of the remaining kids were cut from this. Duncan, however, was able to clear it effortlessly. Carmelita couldn't help but grin as she saw the instructor panic. It was clear he had never seen anyone do as well as Duncan had been doing. Round four brought in lasers that moved left and right that moved faster, along with the speed on the up and down being increased as well. This took out nearly everyone other then Duncan, who once again, was the first to clear, and two other boys. The final hallway had a giant wall of lasers with in the middle, at the bottom and at the top. One of the boys, a hyena, tried to make the jump in the middle gap, only for his foot to trip one of the lasers. The second boy, a hawk, tried to fly in between the top gap, only for his wings to trip them. This left Duncan, who crawled under the gap at the bottom and, from a combination of his Cooper training and his small size, was able to make it out of the wall of the lasers. The instructor couldn't believe his eyes as Duncan walked back out.

"How….how did you do that?" The instructor asked.

"I'm small and I…..take gymnastics," Duncan lied. Behind him Carmelita breathed a sigh of relief. She did not need her son admitting he was training to be a thief.

"Anyways, you win," The instructor said as he handed Duncan a card. After getting it, Duncan raced to his mother.

"Hey, did you see how awesome I did?" Duncan asked he held up his card.

"Yes, you did very good," Carmelita said.

"Can I go play in the arcade?" Duncan asked. Not only did he actually want to use them, but he also wanted to stall Carmelita out.

"Sorry, but I need to back to the office," Carmelita said as she lead Duncan back to her car. Duncan silently cursed his luck. He had hoped his mom would give in. That way, dad could still the files without Carmelita catching him.

And without them fighting.

* * *

"I'll get you Cooper!" Duncan heard Carmelita yelled as Sly jumped into the van. Murray then drove off.

"Hey, dad? Why do you and mom have to fight so much?" Duncan asked Sly. This caught Sly off guard.

"Well, she's a police officer and I'm a thief. We have too. It's how the world works," Sly explained in the best way he could. Duncan just sighed.

"Okay," Duncan said sadly. Sly realized that the next time he saw Carmelita, they were going to have to talk.

* * *

 **I swear on my copy of the Sly Cooper HD collection, the next chapter will have a happy ending. If you guys think Duncan is suffering now, wait until you see some later events in the series. Anyways, FireFlamerx9z, out**


	4. A Stealthy Approach

**Gamelover4159- For all of the game series except for Kirby(way too many games) and Pikmin(the character raising Brick is only in game three(as of now), I will be covering all the games. Don't worry though, thanks to both Duncan's intervention and me just hating the two infamous moments I think you are talking about, game four will end much happier.**

* * *

 **Duncan, Sly and the gang in.. TIDE OF TERROR**

* * *

On the way to the first member of the Fiendish Five, Sir Raleigh Duncan and Sly were looking over the files. Duncan was at first grateful Bentley had been teaching him how to read, but after reading the files, he suddenly wished that he hadn't.

"Wait, so this guy became evil and starting sinking and looting ships…..all because he was BORED?!" Duncan said in disbelief.

"It looks like it," Sly replied.

"That is the dumbest motive ever! He could have done a thousand and one other things to pass the time! He's _rich_ for crying out loud!" Duncan ranted. Sly couldn't hold in his laughter at his son's antics. He wasn't going to admit it out, but Sly had very similar feelings on Raleigh's motive. He really could have done plenty of other things, so thievery was a pretty odd choice. Neither had a very long time to dwell on it as the weather grew stormy, meaning they had reached their destination.

"At least the name of this place is pretty fitting," Murray pointed out as the van came up to a locked gate.

"No kidding," Duncan groaned. "With all the shipwrecks, no wonder these place got the name, Isle of Wrath.

"Drat!" Bentley said. "We can't get inside Raleigh's hideout. Sly and Duncan, you two need go get a treasure key to open the door," As if on cue, Duncan got excited.

"Finally! I get to actually steal something!" Duncan cheered.

"You know the rules, right?" Sly asked as they climbed out of the van.

"Yes, I know, you have to handle all the bad guys," Duncan whined, even though he knew it was for his own safety.

"Also, no going in the water, I know your mother is giving you swimming lessons but the current is too strong," Sly added. Duncan pouted but didn't say anything.

"Just get going!" Bentley ordered from the comlink. Duncan and Sly laughed as they made their way over the gate, climbing up some nearby poles. On the other side, there were searchlights.

"Okay, at least we have a challenge," Sly joked.

"You two need to be careful!" Bentley warned. "If those lights see you, all the guards in the area will swarm and the lights will try to blast you,"

"Oh relax," Sly replied. "I think we can handle this," Sure enough, both men were able to dodge all the lights, with Sly taking out the guards while Duncan looked around for clue bottles.

"Whoa, cool blimp!" Duncan said. Sure enough, there was a giant blimp with tons for machinery. Both thieves used their binocucom(It's a binocular with two little screens to let the user talk with Bentley mostly, and sometimes other characters) to get a closer look.

"That must be Raleigh's hideout!" Bentley realized.

"That looks more like a machine to me," Sly said.

"You're right," Bentley said. "That must be the weather machine!"

"Can't it be both?" Duncan asked.

"He has a point, either way, you two remember how to swing across hooks rights?" Bentley asked.

"Yep," Sly said as he swung across the hooks.

"Duh," Duncan replied as he repeated Sly's actions. Up ahead were a bunch of were a bunch of water wheels. It was two sets. The first could just be jumped across but the second had a bunch of fences that would open and close every few seconds. Duncan and Sly were still able to easily to get through.

"Okay, that was fun," Sly said as he jumped onto land.

"What was the point of the fences? Do they really get this many intruders?" Duncan asked.

"Raleigh's crazy," Sly shrugged. Duncan just kept moving. More spotlights lay ahead, but Duncan and Sly were able to move past them without tripping one, with Duncan smashing the siren in case. After jumping over another gate, they found a vault.

"We have all the clues!" Duncan cheered as Sly began to put in the code. 7-9-2. Inside was Drake Cooper's Fast Attack Dive Move. Both Coopers began to try the move. Sly got it pretty quickly, but it took Duncan a few more tries. Deciding to push his luck, Duncan raced over to an unexpecting guard and successfully pulled off the move and knocked the guard out.

"Never do that again or you will be grounded," Sly warned. Suddenly, Duncan took an interest in his shoes, causing Sly to laugh. Both boys climbed up the remaining searchlight and found more water wheels. After jumping over these, the boys had reached the treasure key. Sly grabbed as Duncan cheered. With a smile, the boys headed back to the van

* * *

"Took you guys long enough!" Murray said as Duncan and Sly tried to dry themselves off with some towels. With the door unlocked, the van entered the hideout.

"You're welcome!" Duncan fired back with a grin. He had just gotten his first taste of thievery and to be honest?

He _loved_ it!

* * *

 **Yeah, the jobs were it's just, point A to point B are a little hard to write/make interesting. Still Duncan gets his first taste of what being a true thief is like and well, he really likes it. Don't forget to review! I like reading them especially because they let me explain stuff. Also, I'm trying to get artwork for both this story and Gothic Falls. If any of you are artistic and have Deviantart accounts, PM me and I can give you some specific things I want. Other then those few things, draw whatever you want(unless it's porn. Don't draw porn)**


	5. Prowling The Grounds Part 1

**Gamelover41592- Yeah, there is no way Duncan would let something like that go un-ranted about, both in normal TD canon and where he is right now**

 **So because I'm somewhat lazy and because I kinda thought this would be fun, Duncan will be going on his own missions while Sly tackles some of the others. In other words, divide and conquer. Don't worry. They will be back together in the second half and for the boss fight.**

* * *

Duncan groaned as he jumped out of the van. He had just gotten dried off and now he had go back outside. Still, he grinned. More chances to be a thief. Sly pulled out his binocucom to get a better look at the storm machine and the blimp, causing Duncan to repeat the action.

"Whoa! How do you make something like that?" Duncan said in awe.

"That blimp looks like the most secured location on this boat. If Raleigh's really as smart the police file suggests then that's where I'll find him," Sly said.

"No!" Bentley ordered. "You'll need to destroy that generator!" Sure enough, there was a nearby generator pumping electricity into…..something. "But you'll need at least two more treasure keys to do it! There are four spots where you can go to get treasure keys, but you'll only need three. I've marked all of them on your maps,"

"Thanks Uncle Bentley," Duncan thanked as he looked for the markers. Sly was also looking around.

"I still feel like we should get all of them before we destroy that generator," He mused. "But that will take a while,"

"Can't we just split up?" Duncan pointed out. "You'll take two and I'll take two," Sly realized that would be the fastest way to get things done. But it was still a huge risk to send the seven year old up against whatever traps and guards could have been waiting. Finally, Sly sighed.

"Fine, but you are going to the spots I pick and if you get in any trouble, you return straight to the van!" Sly ordered.

"Got it!" Duncan cheered. Sly pointed at two spots on the map.

"You go here and here, understood?" Sly asked.

"Yep!" Duncan said. With a nod, each Cooper headed towards their first spots.

* * *

 **Job 1: High Class Heist**

"Jackpot, Duncan! Look at all this stuff! Must be worth millions! And you know what that means... tighter security. You're going to have to be extra sneaky to get the treasure key here," Bentley explained. As soon as Duncan made his way inside, he and Bentley were blown away by all the treasure

"Yeah, I figured," Duncan said. "Still, it will be fun to test out my stealth moves that Sly's been teaching me," With that(and picking up a few coins he found near the entire), Duncan began his way into the treasure hoard. The first room had a bunch of yellow lasers, much to Duncan's relief. He was able to dodge with ease, making good use of his new Fast Dive Skill. With a grin(and picking up a few more coins), he headed into the next room.

And wasn't pleased by what he saw.

"Are you kidding me?!" Duncan nearly yelled. Inside the next room were laser shooting flaming skulls that began to chase him. He used the laser to destroy several things in order to get the money inside, before moving pass some laser fences to destroy the alarm, turning the security off. After doing that, he spoke to his uncle. "Hey, Uncle Bentley? Why does Raleigh have such weird security?"

"What do you mean by weird?" Bentley asked. Duncan was close to rolling his eyes.

"Most normal people don't have a flaming, laser shooting skull as security!" Duncan pointed out.

"True,"

Actually rolling his eyes this this time, Duncan kept moving, grabbing any clue bottles he could find. There were two guards nearby, but Duncan was able to take them out with no problems. He continued across some lily pads and up to a ladder. What he saw at the top made him smile. It was a ledge that he could sneak across, while dodging lasers.

"I see Sly has taught you well," Bentley mused.

"Yes he has," Duncan agreed as he finished the walk. After he picked up the final couple clue bottles, Duncan started to look around for the safe.

Which was at the beginning of the walkway.

"Are. You. Kidding. Me!?" Duncan nearly yelled. He loved showing off his thief skills, but he was pissed he had to redo something he had _just_ finished. He could hear Bentley snickering as he crept back along the wall.

"Sorry, but that was a little overkill," Bentley apologized.

"Just tell me the code," Duncan groaned as he knelt down. He had seen Sly do this a thousand times and while he was still didn't know much about reading, he knew the basic numbers at this point.

"Whoever thought this code up knew what they were doing. Dial in 4-3-6," Bentley explained. Duncan punched in the numbers and pulled out the piece of paper inside.

"First things first," Duncan said. He pulled out the calling card he had with him and placed it into the safe. Sly had said that they would leave the cards to let the victim know exactly who had stolen from them. With that done, Duncan turned back to the piece of the Thievius Raccoonus to see what it was.

"Interesting! Old Sally Cooper's Fast Getaway Raccoon Roll! Stories claim she could move faster than anyone else could on the run!" Bentley marveled. While he was still on solid ground, Duncan tried the move out. It was pretty simple, mostly just rolling into a ball to get away easier. After practicing a few more times, Duncan headed back across the walkway where he found the first treasure key he was looking for.

"Finally!" Duncan cheered as he picked it up and attempted to spin it on his finger. After it fell, he sighed, picked it up, tossed into his backpack and headed out.

* * *

 **Author's Note: If you were wondering, in the first and fourth game, all playable characters would have special victory pose. Duncan's will change majorly in game four, but as of right now, he picks the key up, tries to spin it on his finger, fails, sighs and then tosses it into his backpack.**

* * *

Duncan returned to the van, where he dumped off some of the loot he had stolen.

"Well done!" Bentley said as he looked over Duncan's mini haul.

"Nice!" Murray agreed.

"Thanks, so where's dad?" Duncan asked.

"You just missed him. Your heading into the furnace room for another key," Bentley explained.

"Got it!" Duncan said with a nod. Before he left, he remember something. "Oh! Here's the piece of the Thievius Raccoonus!" Bentley carefully took the piece and got right back to work on putting it in the book.

"Sly found the blueprints of Raleigh's hideout," Bentley said after he finished. "Give me a sec and I can wire them into your binocucom."

"Thanks!" Duncan said as he grabbed the binocucom once Bentley had finished.

"No problem," Bentley called after him as Duncan raced out the van door.

* * *

 **Job 2: The Fire Down Below**

"I already miss the rain!" Duncan groaned as he smashed open a safe with a few clue bottles. The main vault was right at the beginning.

"I did say you were going into a furnace!" Bentley pointed out. "Still temperature's way off the charts in here. This must be the power source for the Storm Machine!"

"So should I destroy it?" Duncan asked, a hint of mischief in his voice, which Bentley quickly caught onto.

"No! That will get us all caught or worse! You may know how to swim, but the rest of us don't!" Bentley panicked.

"I was kidding! Chill!" Duncan insisted. "Let's just get this over with before I melt," With that, he quickly started off. He quickly found some vents spewing out fire, but he quickly used his cane to shut them. Up next was a machine wheel with some hooks just out of range. After a few seconds of thinking, Duncan realized what was supposed to do. He quickly started running on the wheel, causing the hooks to start moving. He then hooked his cane onto them as they carried him to another.

"I am so glad I wear gloves," Duncan mumbled to himself as he knocked out a walrus guard. With how sweaty Duncan was getting, he was sure that without the gloves, he would have lost his grip on his cane and…...

Duncan grunted, he _did not_ want to think about that, thank you very much. After a set of small platforms, Duncan found more fire spewing furnaces, which he took care of in the same way as the first set. He saw the treasure key behind a window, a conveyor belt and another wheel, causing him to quickly figure things out. After a few seconds of running on the wheel, a large lump of coal smashed the window, leaving Duncan free to get the key.

 **Cue victory pose!**

On the way back out, Duncan stopped at the vault.

"What's….the code?" Duncan panted. He was really hot.

"I'm unbeatable! No code can stand before me! It's got to be 5-7-9!" Bentley bragged. Duncan barely had the energy to but the numbers in, but he quickly grabbed the piece of the Thievius Raccoonus.

"Can...I...do...this….back...at...the...van?" Duncan asked, still panting.

"Sure! You should probably get back," Bentley said.

* * *

"Never make me do that again," Duncan groaned as he held three ice packs on his body. He was exhausted. At least the rain had washed the sweat off.

"Deal," Sly said. "Just don't tell your mother," Carmalita would kill Sly if she found out what had just happened.

Duncan laughed. "Got it," He turned to face Bentley. "So what move did I find anyways?"

"This one features Dev Cooperinda's Slow Motion Jump," Bentley explained. "And the one Sly found houses Chris Cooper's Dive Collection technique," Sly began to practice the jump, seeing as the Dive move was an extension of one they already knew. Duncan began to practice as well once he would stand up. As Sly watched, he smiled. He wondered what his dad would have made of Duncan.

* * *

 **And the first half of the first world is done. Final two missions are next and then time for a boss fight!**


	6. Prowling The Grounds Part 2

**Gamelover41592- I picked High Class Heist because of the lack of guards and The Fire Down Below was kinda picked at random. I had a lot of fun writing that though because of Duncan's reactions to the vault placements and some other things in those missions.**

 **As promised, second half of the first world! Let's go**

* * *

Once they had finished practicing and Duncan had finally cooled himself down, Sly and Duncan had used the treasure keys they had found to destroy the generator and crawl through the pipe in was powering.

"Okay, so how do we get up to Raleigh's blimp?" Sly asked.

"How about that cannon?" Duncan offered as he pointed to a cannon with seven locks on it.

"That could work," Bentley said. There are two more keys on this level of Raleigh's boat, I'll mark them on your maps," Once Bentley was done, Sly and Duncan headed for the closest one.

And instantly, Duncan was excited.

"Cool sub! Can I be the gunner?!" Duncan asked. Sly was unsure of that. Despite what Duncan had told them had happened at the fair, a submarine gun was much different from a carnival water gun. Still, Sly just didn't have the heart to say no.

"Fine, but if you get worried, we resurface, understood?" Sly asked. Duncan nodded.

"Let's just go," Duncan said as he entered the sub. There was one seat, so Duncan had to seat on Sly's lap. After getting strapped in, the sub went under.

* * *

 **Job 1: Treasure in the Depths**

"You found it, guys! This is where Raleigh's gang of crabs stashes his sunken treasure!" Bentley told them once they had hit the bottom. "You guys need to blast the chests as they fall. If you break enough, you should be able to get the treasure key!"

"How many is enough?" Sly asked as Duncan began to blast some chests that fell along with the crabs that came for the chests.

"According to my calculations, you need to hit around forty. Oh and if one crab gets a chest, you need to restart," Bentley explained. Both Coopers groaned.

"So let me get this straight, we need to blast forty chests, we can't keep any of what's inside and if we miss one, we restart?!" Duncan asked, making sure he wasn't going nuts.

"That's right," Bentley said. Duncan and Sly both groaned, but kept moving and shooting. It took both a few seconds to get used to the physics, but once they did, it was no problem and they hit forty with ease. After doing so, they quickly resurfaced and Sly grabbed the key that had appeared. With that, the duo set off to find the next key.

* * *

 **Job 2: The Gunboat Graveyard**

"Whoa," Was all Duncan could say. In front of him and Sly was an obstacle course of all the ships and planes Raleigh had sunk/destroyed with the either his own ships or weather machine.

"Agreed," Sly said before the duo began their trek. They returned to the pattern they had used for the approach on the ship. Sly took care of all guards, while Duncan collected all the clues.

"Why do some of the guards have shurikens?" Duncan asked as he smashed a siren. "Wouldn't that be kinda out of place?"

"I guess the idea of starfish shurikens was too good to pass up here," Sly said as he took out another guard. After that, the duo climbed up some ropes to reach a plane hanging from some vines. There were a bunch of spotlights, along with an alarm which Duncan quickly smashed, taking care of the spotlights. They continued along the wings and crawled along a chain over a squid guard.

" _Ahoy, dock hands! Capital job unloading that cargo last night. You're the crown jewel of my operation. Do me the service of proving your worth yet again by protecting the Treasure Key that I have stored down there. It appears there is a prowler on the premises. And if any of you let him get his hands on that key, I'LL PERSONALLY FLOG THE LOT OF YOU, FOR AN ENTIRE FORTNIGHT!_ " Raleigh ordered over the PA system.

"Bipolar much?" Duncan joked.

"True," Sly agreed as he took out the squid guard, allowing Duncan to get the clue bottles on the ledge the guard was on.

"Let's keep moving, this place is giving me the creeps," Duncan admitted as he followed Sly onto another chain. The next obstacle was a bunch of floating objects in the water with a bunch of spotlights. Sly took out the guards while Duncan made his way up to the alarm. He almost screamed when he saw a tentacle eyeball in the tube he was sneaking around to get the clue, but he managed to keep it in. He did snap a picture with it so he could ask Bentley what the heck it was…..and if he could have one.

"Duncan!" Sly called from a nearby wrecked ship. "Are you okay!?"

"Yeah! Hang on!" Duncan said as he climbed down and made his way over to the nearby ship. "Are we almost done?"

"Yep, the safe is right here," Sly said as Duncan collected the last few clue bottles.

"This one was cake. Input 7-1-9," Bentley explained. Sly did just that and pulled out the page of the Thievius Raccoonus.

"Oh, you're lucky! This page features Karin Coopergiwa's Coin Magnet technique. All she had to do was stand near money, and it would magically jump into her purse," Bentley explained. Duncan decided to try that out with some coins on the wreck. Sure enough, they jumped right into Duncan's backpack.

"That is awesome!" Duncan cheered as he made his way back to Sly, who had already claimed the treasure key.

"Let's head back to the cannon," Sly said.

* * *

After the pages of the Thievius Raccoonus and loot had been dropped off at the van, Duncan and Sly made their way back to the cannon. All seven keys unlocked the cannon.

"Um, were we sure this was a good idea?" Duncan asked.

"It was _your_ idea," Sly pointed out.

"One, it seemed like a good idea at the time and two, since when does anyone listen to the seven year old!?" Duncan pointed out.

"Fair enough," Sly said as they climbed into the cannon. It fired them straight to Raleigh's blimp.

"Let's do that again!" Duncan cheered once they landed surprisingly smoothly.

"How about let's not," Sly said.

"Oh, well, what do we have here?" Raleigh said once he noticed them. "Unexpected guests. I HATE UNEXPECTED GUESTS!"

"Listen, Raleigh. Wipe out my family and steal what's mine, you better expect company," Sly said. Duncan could sense the rarely seen venom in his father's voice. It was kinda cool.

"Well then, what should I do? MAYBE I SHOULD BLOAT UP AND SQUASH YOU LIKE THE INSECTS YOU ARE!" Raleigh announced as he jumped down, inflated himself and started trying to crush the Coopers, who were quick to dodge. After four jumps, Raleigh burped, causing him to deflate. This gave Duncan and Sly a window to attack. This repeated two more times. Finally, Raleigh was done messing around. He landed on a much bigger platform and began spinning around, trying to hit Sly and Duncan with his tongue. There was just one small problem.

"Um, is he trying to hit me?" Duncan asked. He was so short, the tongue didn't even touch him!

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Raleigh said as he deflated, allowing Sly and Duncan to finish him off. With him knocked out, the duo headed up to a safe that held a special piece of the Thievius Raccoonus.

* * *

"Let's get out of here!" Murray yelled as Sly and Duncan jumped into the van. The gang sped off. Carmelita had shown up, clearly hoping to bag Sly. While she didn't catch him, the gang felt she wouldn't have minded getting Raleigh either. Still, the two happiest people that night were Duncan and Sly.

* * *

 **And the first area is done. I added the boss fight with Sir Raleigh to this chapter because I couldn't really make it interesting. Raleigh was kinda a lame villain. While, yes his area was cool and the boss fight was pretty fun, his backstory was** _ **LAME**_ **. Next time, we'll be off to Mesa City(think that's how it's spelled) to take on Muggshot!**


	7. A Rocky Start

**Gamelover41592- Thank you and trust me, Duncan's reaction to Muggshot will be much different to Raleigh.**

 **Time for the second world! I think everyone can agree that this was where everything truly picked up**

* * *

On the way to Mesa city, Duncan and Sly studied over two things. First was the new technique Raleigh had. Rioichi Cooper's Ninja Spire Jump. However, Duncan seemed more excited about something else.

"So I'm part ninja?!" Duncan asked in awe.

"I guess so," Sly said. Duncan started cheering, which made Sly laugh. He wondered what Duncan's reactions would be to some of his other ancestors. The second thing was about the second member of the Fiendish Five, Muggshot. He was tough, and because of this, he was gang's enforcer. But it was his backstory that caught Duncan's eye.

"So this guy was bullied and he got tough after watching gangster movies?" Duncan asked. "That's actually kinda sad," Sly was a little surprised. After Duncan's rant on Raleigh, Sly was expecting another of that, so hearing Duncan have a bit of pity for this guy was a bit odd. Still, Sly did agree with his son. While it still wasn't the best way to spend your adulthood, at least Muggshot did have a bit of a reason for turning out how he did.

"Hey, there's another gate!" Murray called from the front. Sure enough, another gate was blocking the entrance.

"That doesn't make a lot of sense for such a big city!" Bentley noted.

"Then I guess let's see what's going on!" Sly announced.

"Yeah, I want to try this new ninja move!" Duncan agreed as he jumped out of the van. Sly grinned as he followed. The duo climbed over the gate, but what they saw did not look like a massive, bustling city. Sly even pulled out his binocucom to get a better look

"Hey Sly! I thought you said Mesa City was going to be loud and busy. This looks more like a ghost town!" Bentley said over the comlink.

"I guess Muggshot and his goons ran everyone out," Sly said as he moved onwards. What quickly made both happy was a bunch of lights what would be perfect for the Ninja Spire Jump. Both began to jump to across the lights, collecting any clues and money they came across.

"Hey, dad? This is something I've been wondering about for a while. Why do people just leave clues laying around? Wouldn't that be kinda…...countering the point of a locked safe?" Duncan asked.

"I really don't know, but hey! Makes our lives easier!" Sly replied. Duncan laughed.

"I guess bad guys are just stupid!" Duncan said back, this time causing Sly to laugh.

"Okay, you two, keep moving," Bentley ordered over the comlink.

"Fine!" Duncan jokingly whined as he hopped across some debris floating in water to get some more clues. After collecting all of them, he returned to Sly where the duo found a set of flashing checker lasers. When one group stopped flashing, the other would start. Still both Coopers were able to easily make it across.

"Again, do they get intruders this often?" Duncan asked.

"I really don't know," Sly said as the duo continued on their way, with Sly taking down the guards while Duncan grabbed the clues and smashed sirens.

"Hey, I think I see the safe! We're gonna need to swing back here!" Duncan yelled as he pointed to a wire hanging overhead. Sure enough, it lead to a small platform with a vault on it.

"We'll come back once we get the treasure key," Sly told him. Duncan nodded. A car crusher was the next obstacle, which required a lot of careful moving.

"Phew, I did _not_ want to be a Duncan sandwich," Duncan said with relief.

"Mmmh, sandwich!" Murray said. "Now I'm hungry!" Duncan and Sly both shared a quick laugh over that. Sly took down a guard that came out through the fence, while Duncan grabbed a clue that was nearby.

"So this is something else I have been wondering about," Duncan began as Sly defeated another guard.

"What?"

"How come some of the dogs here are semi-intelligent while others are just snarling beasts?" Duncan finished.

"I really have no clue," Sly admitted, a little dumbfounded that he had never realized that before.

"Stop pondering your existence and get moving!" Bentley ordered.

"Seems like someone is getting impatient," Sly joked, causing Duncan to start laughing and Bentley to start complaining.

"Just get the key!" Bentley finally snapped. Duncan kept laughing as he and Sly made their way through another car crusher. Duncan's joyous mood went away when he saw what he and Sly had to pass through next.

"Uh, that doesn't look safe," Duncan panicked. It was a set of train cars hanging over the cliff. Inside of all the cars were a bunch of lasers along with more clue bottles.

"Listen, if it will make you feel safer, do you want to ride on my back?" Sly offered.

"Okay," Duncan said. As he jumped onto Sly's back, Sly could feel Duncan shaking.

"Here we go," Sly said in the most soothing voice he could muster. With that, he began to make his way through the train. Duncan managed to keep himself calm for the most part, although Sly could still tell he was a little nervous. Finally, they had it through and Duncan climbed off Sly's back.

"That wasn't so bad," Duncan admitted sheepishly. The duo climbed up to where the treasure key was and Sly climbed it.

"Let's head back to the safe and then we can go back to the van," Sly told Duncan, who nodded. They quickly made it back to the safe.

"A little bit of higher mathematics, and voila! Dial in 3-1-4," Bentley said. Sly did just that and opened the safe while Duncan grabbed what was inside.

"Outstanding! You've uncovered Rob McCooper's patented Explosive Hat technique!" Bentley explained. With a grin, Duncan tossed his hat onto his ground, backed up a little, and slammed his cane on the floor. The hat formed an explosion around it, but the hat itself was untouched. Duncan jumped down to reclaim his hat.

"This is weird one," Sly admitted as he followed Duncan.

"But a pretty funny one too!" Duncan laughed. Sly was forced to admit that was true.

"No making things like the bathtub explode when we get home, got it?" Sly asked.

"Fine!" Duncan pouted. With that, the duo returned to the van.

* * *

 **I changed up the technique a little bit but other then that, it's the same. Also, I have midterms this week, so chapters may take a while to come out. Anyways, see ya!**


	8. Muggshot's Turf Part 1

**Gamelover41592- I didn't even connect the pun until I read your comment!**

 **Guest- That is actually one of my favorite things to write. Gwen had it too in some spots(Don't know if you read her story) but it's what makes Duncan so much fun to write because he is kinda reacting in the same way the audience.**

* * *

I forgot about this last time so…..

 **Sly, Duncan and the gang in….SUNSET SNAKE EYES**

* * *

Taking out a few guards along the way, Duncan and Sly made their way to the center of town. It was clear Muggshot ran the place as his face covered the city.

"This Muggshot certainly isn't shy. Okay, so we know he's here somewhere, but how are we supposed to find him? Mesa City is a big place!" Bentley said.

"Given that he's a bulldog... it seems only reasonable to assume he'd chose to live in a giant fire hydrant," Sly pointed out. Sure enough, a giant fire hydrant was built on top of the hotel.

"That makes sense," Bentley admitted.

"How do we get up there?" Duncan asked.

"Try getting some treasure keys to start that engine up," Bentley said. A car that seemed to still be in decent shape, which had three locks on it.

"Split up again?" Duncan offered.

"Sure, see you in a little bit," Sly said before racing off. He was a bit more comfortable letting Duncan take on his own mission after what happened with Raleigh…..as long as it didn't have a boiler in it.

"See ya," Duncan said as he ran off in the direction of the casino.

* * *

 **Job 1: Boneyard Casino**

Duncan flipped a switch, opening up the way inside.

"Nice job getting in, but look out for those guards. Muggshot's got those machine-gun toting dogs hunting like a pack," Bentley explained.

"Got it. I'm not here to be target practice!" Duncan replied. Ignoring Bentley muttering something about having to deal with two people with Sly's sense of humor, Duncan pressed on, quietly taking out some guards and trying his best to avoid being spotted. More guards blocked the way, causing Duncan to climb up to a ledge and jump down on them in order to keep moving.

"Seems like you are learning this thief stuff pretty quickly," Bentley noted as Duncan began to make his way across some chandeliers.

"It's like I said, I learn fast," Duncan said. He then saw a big slot machine with a hook on the handle. With a grin, Duncan leapt onto the hook, grabbing it with his cane and dragging the handle down with his weight. It took a few seconds, causing Duncan to start shifting his weight, but it paid off and a huge amount money poured out the slot machine, causing Duncan to cheer and begin to collect everything. After making sure he had everything(the coin magnet technique helped with that), Duncan returned to the chandeliers to continue the trek across. Once he had made it, he wasn't pleased with what was waiting for him.

"More floor lasers, yay," Duncan deadpanned.

"You could use the practice," Sly joked.

"Wait, dad?! When did you get back to the hideout!?" Duncan demanded.

"Murray got involved in a race for the key, I just coached him through it," Sly explained. Duncan groaned but started to make his way across the floor. There were clues overhead, but Duncan was planning to get those after he smashed the alarm. Then the floor started flashing, causing Duncan to pick up the paste. He jumped up onto the safe platform, dove into the guard, taking him out, and smashed the alarms. Once the lasers turned off, Duncan turned around and jumped from the clues.

"Please don't let there be anymore annoying things," Duncan groaned.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, it's flooded up ahead," Bentley said. Duncan started bashing his head against the wall.

"Of course!" Duncan whined as he pulled himself away from the wall. Sure enough, the area up ahead was flooded and due to the way Muggshot ran the place, the wires had caused the water to be electrified. Thankfully, there was plenty of things to jump on. With careful movements, Duncan was able to make it across not only the water, but also another electrified floor. After passing some laser shooting roulettes, Duncan smashed open the last clue bottle and found the vault.

"Man, I'm getting swift with deciphering these codes. Dial 3-3-8," Bentley said as Duncan reached the vault. Duncan input the numbers and the vault opened. "Okay, this page is from you hyperactive ancestor B.F. Cooper. He discovered a way to speed up the clock, perfect for those long stakeouts!" After a few attempts to get it right, Duncan continued over to a giant roulette wheel that seemed to house the key inside.

"Okay, I think you need to jump on the wheel to hit the green spots. Doing this a few times should net you the key," Sly explained. Duncan understood. He began to jump on the pegs, using the new technique to make the process go a bit faster. Three green spaces later, the glass blocking the key shattered, allowing Duncan to claim it.

* * *

 **Job complete**

* * *

After meeting up, partly so Sly could learn the new technique and partly so they could meet up, Duncan and Sly made their way over to the final key location. What they found was a turret aimed at the path to the key.

"Okay, you two, Murray is in position to make a run for this key," Bentley explained.

"Okay, so what do we do?" Sly asked.

"Yeah, and does it involve using that gun?" Duncan added in.

"Provide some covering fire for him with that blasting station," Bentley explained. Both Cooper's faces lit up.

"Sweet," Sly said.

"Alright!" Duncan cheered. Both grabbed a part of the gun, Duncan on the left, Sly on the right. They blasted the gate blocking Murray.

"Here I go, guys," Murray said nervously. Several guards came out to try and stop him, but quick reflexes and teamwork took care of them along with some barrels they pushed at Murray. Because of this, Murray was able to reach the key would no problems.

"Way to go, uncle Murray!" Duncan cheered as he saw Murray grab the key.

"Thanks, I couldn't have done it without you guys!" Murray replied as they made their way back to the van

* * *

 **And another chapter is done! Also, the driving and the Murray/gunner missions suck! So hard! Anyways, see you all for the second half of this chapter**


	9. Muggshot's Turf Part 2

**Gamelover41592- Thank you for the kind words! I try my best.**

 **Time for the second half of this chapter and the fight with Muggshot! Along with the first two major change from canon! Also, if I don't show Duncan collecting clues, he didn't miss them, I just don't feel like writing it.**

* * *

"Let's do this!" Duncan cheered as he and Sly unlocked the three treasure key locks. The car roared to life and slammed into the door. Duncan and Sly entered…..only to find that the elevator up to Muggshot was locked.

"Drat! Seems like you'll need all seven keys to get into here!" Bentley noted. "I've marked the location of three more on your maps,"

"I guess we are splitting up again," Sly noted.

"Yep," Duncan said. With a quick nod, the duo walked off towards different missions.

* * *

 **Job 1: Straight to the Top**

"Wow, the key is right here!" Duncan said in shock. Sure enough, the treasure key was being held inside a skylight with green glass. "Maybe I'll be able to steal some more stuff while I wait for dad!" With a grin, Duncan picked up a decent sized piece of junk and lobbed it at the skylight.

Only for it to bounce off harmlessly.

"Huh?" Duncan asked. He tried again, with something slightly bigger. Nothing. He then tried jumping on it. Not even a scratch. Smacking it with his cane? Nope.

"Forget it. Your cane will never smash that thick glass. You'll need something super-heavy... like that big wrecking ball up there," Bentley explained.

"Why didn't you tell me that before?" Duncan asked.

"Because you were busy," Bentley explained.

"I wasn't bus-hey!" Duncan protested. He kept grumbling as he began his trek up to the wrecking ball. He took down a guard with his new hat move. But something about the guards were bugging him.

"Hey, uncle Bentley, I was standing right in that guy's view and he didn't see me! What's up with that?" Duncan asked.

"I really have no idea?" Bentley offered. Duncan shrugged as he leapt onto a car being suspended by a crane. Thankfully, he was too light for it to lose its grip on the car, but he nearly lost his footing, giving him a good view of the ground below, along with what would happen if he fell. He quickly grabbed the clue and jumped off.

"That was close," Duncan muttered to himself as he continued to move up to the crane.

"You got that right, I can't imagine Sly and Carmelita's reactions if you did fall," Bentley said.

"What about your and Murray's reactions?" Duncan joked. As Bentley whined about that, Duncan thought about Carmelita, his mom. He knew she had something for Sly and his father was _very_ open about his own feelings. So why wouldn't one of them make a move already? Suddenly, Duncan had an idea. He snapped himself out of his plotting when one of the neon signs flashed him. After regaining his sight, he crawled up one of the pipes on the sign before jumping to another one. Another car was held by a crane, along with a clue. This time, Duncan quickly jumped on and off.

"Hey, Duncan, Bentley said he had to take care of something and he told he to ask about you," Murray said.

"Doing pretty good, I'm about halfway up to the crane," Duncan explained as he collected a few more clues. A water tower was nearby and Duncan found two more clues in a safe near a water tower. He then spotted a golden hook. Pulling on in, he caused eight more clues to come out.

"Nice!" Murray said.

"Thanks," Duncan said as he collected another set of clues near a tower. He then climbed up to another level using some more pipes. Some guards were waiting for him.

"Oh lovely," Duncan groaned as went a little lower on the pipes so he could come up with a plan. He quickly tossed his hat onto the ledge.

"Hey, what's that?" He heard one of the guards say. He peeked his head up and found that all the guards in the area were suddenly interested in his hat,

"Where did that come from?" Another asked. Duncan giggled at the guard's stupidity and detonated the hat, knocking all of the guards unconscious.

"Me," Duncan said as he collected his hat and continued on his trek.

"Nice move!" Murray said. "Even if I would fall for it,"

"I think you are way smarter then those guys!" Duncan said, hoping to lift his uncle's spirit.

"Really?" Murray asked as Duncan smashed another clue bottle.

"Yep!" Duncan said. He climbed up onto a sign shaped like a dog bone which fell and formed a walkway onto another building.

"I can see Sly has been teaching you about property damage," Bentley said. Apparently he had come back.

"If anything, people will think one of Muggshot's goons did it," Duncan pointed out as he made his way across. As soon as Duncan stepped off, the bone snapped back. "See? Nothing to worry about!"

"You really are Sly's kid," Bentley noted with a sigh. Duncan giggled a little as he passed the safe. He only needed two more clues. He found one on another hanging car and last one of the arm of the crane.

"Hey, Uncle Bentley? What's with Muggshot's obsession with hanging cars?" Duncan asked as he made his way back to the safe.

"I really have no clue," Bentley said. Once Duncan reached the safe, Bentley began working on the code. "You'd need an I.Q. of at least 140 to figure this one out. Dial in 4-6-8," Duncan punched in the numbers and pulled out what looked like blueprints.

"Huh?" Duncan asked, confused.

"You found the blueprints to Muggshot's additions to Mesa City!" Bentley exclaimed. Now Duncan understood, he remembered Bentley had said that Sly had found some back in Raleigh's base. "With these files I'll be able to help you find all his clue and breakables. Just look through your Binocucom to get the information," Bentley continted.

"Okay!" Duncan said. He returned to the crane and used it to smash the skylight open. He then jumped back down by climbing down the wrecking ball's chain and claimed the key.

* * *

 **Job complete!**

* * *

Duncan found Sly waiting for him outside the van. Sly smiled when he saw Duncan and ruffled his hair.

"I heard you found the blueprints," Sly said. "Well done,"

"Thanks, did you find anything?" Duncan asked.

"I found some notes relating to water safety. Nothing that cool," Sly explained.

"Get moving you two, I think Muggshot may be on to us," Bentley snapped. Both Coopers rolled their eyes and headed off to find the last key.

* * *

 **Job 2: Tango for two**

As Duncan and Sly began to mount up to the building where the key was located, a familiar stun gun blast blasted a nearby window.

"Well, well, well... look who just walked into my crosshairs... Sly Cooper!" Carmelita said as she aimed her gun at Sly.

"Hi mom!" Duncan waved.

"Hi Duncan!" Carmelita replied happily before turning serious again. Sly chuckled a bit at the display in front of him.

"About time you showed up, Ms. Fox. Was getting worried about you. Thought you took a wrong turn somewhere back in Paris," Sly joked. Duncan took advantage of the conversation to slip away.

"Duncan? What are you doing?" Bentley asked.

"Letting mom and dad talk," Duncan said with a grin. Back with Sly and Carmelita, neither had noticed Duncan slip off.

"Look Carmelita, jokes aside, I actually wanted to discuss something with you," Sly admitted. Carmelita lowered the blaster a little.

"What?" She asked.

"It's about this, because when I stole the files, I think Duncan may have been trying to stall you out at the fair," Sly explained.

"Why would he do-" Carmelita began, only for the answer to hit her like a ton of bricks. "He doesn't want us to fight."

"Bingo," Sly answered sadly. Both sat there in silence.

"But what can we do?" Sly asked. "We both know we can't leave the paths we are on, that's for sure," They sat there for a few more seconds before Carmelita snapped her fingers.

"I have an idea, anonymous tips!" She realized. "Sometimes, when one of my co-workers is working on a case, they'll get a tip from someone that doesn't reveal their name or anything else," Sly understood.

"I get it! So if I have Bentley send you an email, talking about the next thief we are going after, you can come bag them," Sly finished.

"And it will still look like I'm going after you!" Carmelita said as jumped down the the ledge Sly was on.

"And we won't fight," Sly said. The duo moved closer together and smiled at each other…

"What are you guys doing?" Duncan asked as he came back, treasure key in hand. His sudden words made both of his parents jump.

"Gah! Wait, where did you get that?" Carmelita asked.

"Huh, oh, when you guys were talking, I decided to go get the key and I found another page of the Thievius Raccoonus. Something about making a fake standee of yourself to fool guards," Duncan explained quickly.

"I think we better get going," Sly said. He planted a quick kiss on Carmelita's cheek, then ran off with Duncan in tow. In their haste, neither saw Carmelita's blush.

* * *

 **Job Complete!**

* * *

Using all seven keys, Duncan and Sly had unlocked the elevator and found Muggshot.

"Wah! My boys have been yapping about some duo of skull busters running around and _this_ is what they were talking about. A father/son duo of rats with puny sticks," Muggshot laughed until he realized something. "Wait a minute! I know those sticks! Ya know, that Thingus Raccamagoocus had some really nice pictures, but way too many big words!"

"So I don't suppose you would be okay to just hand them over?" Sly asked.

"What are you kidding? You break into my place, steal my stuff, trash the joint, I feel transgressed and violated. Let's rock!" Muggshot said before calming down a little. "Although, if it's not much to asked, can the tyke sit the fight out? I don't like the thought of hurtin' a little kid,"

"Alright, Duncan, wait by the elevator," Sly ordered. Duncan gave a nod and walked back towards the elevator, but didn't return to the ground floor. He wanted to watch the battle. Once he knew Duncan couldn't be hit, Muggshot grabbed two guns and walked(using his hands) onto the battlefield. He tried to shoot Sly, but the raccoon was easily able to dodge the bullets and reflect several mirrors in the arena, which hit Muggshot and destroyed his guns. This repeated two more times, just in two different areas. Duncan met up with his father and Muggshot on the final area, a chandelier.

"Gah! I lost to just one of ya!" Muggshot groaned. He then grinned. "Seems ya definitely are your father's kid!" This confused Sly.

"Why do you care. You were part of the group that killed him?" Sly asked.

"Me, Mz. Ruby, and Panda King of the others had no clue what our boss was truly planning to do your pop! We just thought we was going to scare him out of the criminal game but our boss had other plans," Muggshot shuddered. "None of us realized he had a kid either until we saw you leave!"

"Alright, I'll believe you, but I'm still leaving you for the cops," Sly said as Duncan walked over to the safe holding the piece of the Thievius Raccoonus.

"I guess that's fair," Muggshot conceited.

* * *

After grabbing the Thievius Raccoonus, Duncan and Sly made it to the van just in time for Carmelita to arrest Muggshot. At the scene, she had found a note that claimed that Muggshot was reformable and why, which she decided to trust, partly because she had a good idea who it was from. Either way, both sides left satisfied with their current fate.

* * *

 **This would have been up yesterday, but because of reasons, I couldn't use my computer to upload it. But still, two big changes! Although I'll admit one is much bigger then the other. As for Muggshot himself, HUGE step up from Raleigh! He had a much better backstory, an area that was mostly fun(still glaring at you Murray missions!), and a really fun backstory. Either way, next time, we head off to Haiti to take on Mz. Ruby!**


	10. The Dread Swamp Path

**Gamelover41592- Trust me, I have plans for Muggshot and who will take his place**

 **Guest- That change was actually gonna come later, but I decided to move it sooner. Also yes, Flight of Fancy will be rewritten**

 **Man, I am flying through this! With any luck, I'll be on to game two by the end of February! Anyways, this is….**

* * *

 **Sly, Duncan, and the gang in…. VICIOUS VOODOO!**

* * *

The next member of the Fiendish Five, Mz. Ruby, was hidden out in Haiti, giving Duncan and Sly plenty of time to study up on both her, but also the new moves they had found with Muggshot, "Tennessee Kid" Cooper, Rail Walk and Rail Slide. Again, Duncan was excited over the fact he was also a cowboy, but his main interest was on Mz. Ruby herself.

"I think someone who can talk to dead people sounds cool! It's not fair that she was bullied!" Duncan complained.

"Maybe you can tell her that," Sly said. His main focus was still on the fact that Mz. Ruby wasn't aware that she was a part of group that was going to murder his father.

"Hey, Sly? We're here," Murray said. Sure enough, there was another gate blocking the way.

"Why am I not surprised at this point?" Sly noted as he and Duncan jumped out of the van. They climbed over the gate and began the trek to the key.

"Don't get cocky or you'll end up with your head shrunk to a pea. You've got to get past those voodoo guards - and I'm warning you - they're mean and they work like a team," Bentley warned them over the comlink as they defeated a giant mosquito guard.

"So do we, buddy!" Sly replied.

"Yeah!" Duncan added in.

"Alright, you two. I'll contact you if you need," Bentley said before signing off. Just as he did that, Duncan and Sly reached an narrow rail like tree root. Sly turned to face his son.

"You remember what to do here, right?" Sly asked.

"Use the new move we just found and learned?" Duncan asked before doing just that.

"Yep!" Sly said before going after him.

"Wee!" Duncan cheered as he bounced on a nearby trampoline, shooting himself up to a higher platform. Sly smiled as he followed him up and took out a spider that had dropped down. Even if he knew Duncan loved being a thief more then anything. It was still cute seeing him behave like a normal kid sometimes. Next up were some vines that Duncan and Sly slid down in order to get across. Duncan jumped off a little early in order to snag two clue bottles, before jumping back on.

"Why would someone want to make a base here? It's all muggy and gross," Duncan whined after he stepped on a particularly dirty part of a tree and now trying to scrape the gunk of off his boot.

"I don't know, but she is a mystic. Maybe she likes it like this?" Sly offered. Duncan just shrugged as they continued onwards. There was a another trampoline, returning Duncan's mode to it's much more joyful version. There was a another vine to slide down, followed by another trampoline, which lead to another trampoline and another vine.

"Didn't we just do that? Why were they the same?" Duncan asked.

"I really don't," Sly said as he and Duncan landed behind a waterfall. There were some roots sticking out of the swamp water which let the duo jump across leading to a small tunnel housing….

"SWAMP MONSTER!" Duncan screamed as he ran out of the tunnel, shut his eyes, curled into a ball and pulled his cane close to him. When he opened his eyes, Sly stood in front of him and the monster was in pieces on the floor.

"Hey, it's okay, the monster was just some moss and sticks," Sly comforted his son. Duncan suddenly felt embarrassed.

"Sorry….." Duncan said quietly.

"Hey, it's okay to be scared, but I know you can beat them if you tried," Sly reassured him. Duncan gave a small smile.

"Okay," Duncan said, still a little nervous, but not letting Sly see it. They walked back into the tunnel and climbed up another root, leading up to the top of another tree stump. There were two more monsters, but this time, Duncan was ready, he swung his cane and one, breaking it apart with every hit. Finally, he defeated it just as Sly killed the other.

"See? You're way scarier!" Sly said to his son, who giggled.

"Yeah! Roar!" Duncan roared, even if it wasn't scary at all. They laughed as they snuck around a fence, with a rat guard flashing a flashlight every few seconds, but they were able to get pass without any problems. They climbed up to where he was a knocked him out, only to come face to face with what looked like a guard compound. They walked in, only to find that the key was being shielded by…..something.

"Uncle Bentley, why can't we touch the key?" Duncan asked.

"There's some type of Bad Mojo Force Field protecting the key. You two will need to destroy five candles in here, along with taking out all the guards," Bentley explained.

"Okay, thanks Bentley," Sly said as he and Duncan began to destroy the candles. Some guards spotted them, but they were quickly taken out. Once all of it had been taken care of, they grabbed the key, but before leaving, stopped at the safe.

"If I did my math right, and I ALWAYS do my math right, then the combination has got to be 5-8-8," Bentley deduced. Duncan punched the code in and opened up the safe. Inside was a yet another piece of the Thievius Raccoonus.

"Electrifying! Kelle McCooper's notes on how to harness the electromagnetic field, created by a rolling raccoon! Now you raccoon roll move will really pack a punch! Plus it should give you a nice tingling sensation!" Bentley explained. They took a few minutes practices how to do it. It wasn't very hard, since they already knew who to do the move.

"Uncle Bentley was right! You do get a tingling feeling!" Duncan noted as he tried to smooth his hair back down. The electricity had made his hair, along with parts of Sly's fur stand on end.

"I think that the humanity will make it stand anyways," Sly noted. Duncan just smiled before using the roll to begin to make his way back to wall.

"Um, are you going to walk normally?"

"No, this is more fun!"

* * *

 **And this is done! It was gonna be up yesterday, but I couldn't find the time to work on it.**


	11. The Swamp's Dark Center Part 1

**Gamelover41592- I had a lot of fun writing that part of the chapter**

 **So time for this set of missions. Because of all "gimmick" missions, this chapter will either be really short, or really long.**

* * *

After getting the van into the swamp's center, Duncan and Sly began scouting for any spot that Mz. Ruby could be hiding. Bentley was also looking using his equipment to get any ideas.

"My paranormal scanner is maxing out on that structure," Bentley said after a few minutes. What he meant was a large skull shaped rock structure.

"A reading like that could only be coming off of Mz. Ruby herself," Sly realized.

"So let's find a way up there!" Duncan cheered.

" _Hello to all my fellow voodoo masters! I want production of the ghosts sped up! As soon as I get them all, we are off to Mexico_!" Mz. Ruby announced for the PA system.

"Well, that's another thing we have to take care of," Sly said.

"You should destroy that ghost production facility first," Bentley ordered.

"Got it!" Sly said. He and Duncan knew the drill. They walked off in different directions.

* * *

 **Job 1: A Grave Undertaking**

"Duncan, you'd better be on your guard here. My paranormal scanners show this place is really haunted!" Bentley warned him.

"What? That sounds awesome!" Duncan cheered as he started on his way. He began to smash through some roots, only a ghost to pop out at him. He screamed a little, but only out of shock, before whacking the ghost with his cane.

"Awesome, huh?" Bentley teased.

"Shut up," Duncan said bluntly. He jumped onto a vine and slid down. Some ghost started to appear, but Duncan took care of them. Once he hit the end of the vine, he smashed more roots and saw what looked like a mix between a gravestone and a machine.

"It seems like the ghosts are coming from there. I think if you smash it, you should be able to stop the ghosts from coming," Bentley said. Duncan did just that. Sure if, the ghosts stopped spawning.

"Hey, how come I can hit the ghosts? Shouldn't they pass right through the cane?" Duncan asked.

"Mz. Ruby's the ghost expert, not me," Bentley deadpanned. Duncan laughed a little and grabbed onto a vine, starting to swing across the swamp. He gave off a quiet Tarzan yell and landed on the other side. A mosquito was hovering around a clue, so Duncan took it out. A swamp monster guarded another clue. Duncan was still a little scared of them, but he had a plan. Using a new technique, he created a quick standee of himself and tossed it towards the monster. Sure enough, it began to attack it. With it distracted, Duncan tossed his hat and used it to blow the swamp monster up. With a grin, he continued.

"I think that was a little overkill," Murray said. Apparently, he had finished his nap.

"Meh," Duncan shrugged as he bounced off a crocodile's mouth to bounce himself up to higher spot. He began to smash through some sticks, clearing a path for himself. There was a another mouth, but this one lead into a large room. Ghosts started pouring into the room. Duncan began to run around, looking for the generators. He found them on the bottom floor. He quickly started smashing them, then took care of the reminding ghosts. He used a nearby trampoline to bounce himself back up to the top floor. After sneaking around a ledge with lasers and smashing the siren, Duncan found more roots that he needed to sneak around.

"You've been quiet, Duncan. Are you okay?" Bentley asked.

"I'm fine, just nothing to talk about. This plant looks the same nearly everywhere," Duncan replied. There was another set of swinging vines. His mode improved a little. With a another tarzan yell/whisper, he swung across.

"Only Sly would do that," Bentley noted.

"It's like you always say, I'm just like Sly!" Duncan pointed out.

"You do say that a lot, Bentley," Murray pointed out. Duncan laughed. He continued along, grabbing clues along the way. He suddenly realized that what he had fought all the ghosts in was a large crocodile like building.

"Whoa," was all Duncan could say. He was impressed. He made his way across after scanning the whole thing for more clue bottles.

"Be careful with those torches! We don't need to be treating you for burns," Bentley said. Duncan listened and was very careful as he jumped across them, making sure not to stand on one for too long. He was able to get across, although he did check his feet for burns. Thankfully, there weren't any.

"No burns," Duncan assured his uncles as he began jumping across some moss pads, whacking any ghosts along the way.

"Good," Bentley said. Murray breathed a sigh of relief. Duncan smashed another ghost generator. He then slid down another vine to another ghost generator, which he quickly smashed. He slid down one final vine. Duncan smiled when he saw both the vault and the treasure key.

"What's the code, Uncle Bentley?" Duncan asked as he knelt down next to the vault

"Okay. Okay, this is kind of a guess, but try 1-2-8," Bentley offered. Duncan put the numbers in and the vault opened.

"Seems like a pretty good guess," Duncan muttered as he pulled the piece out.

"Ah, a more modern entry - Bruce O'Coop's Computer Hacking technique! Using the data on this page, I should be able to tap the duty roster in each hideout, and project the information directly into your Binocucom!" Bentley said. Duncan could tell that he liked it then he or Sly would. After Bentley did his job, Duncan grabbed the key and headed off to go find Sly.

* * *

 **Job Complete!**

* * *

"So we both got things that have nothing to do with us, huh?" Sly said. Once again, he had found the blueprints.

"I guess," Duncan said. The duo then headed off to the next treasure key. There was a swamp skiff waiting for them with a flamethrower on it.

"You'll use the flamethrower, I'll drive. How's that sound?" Duncan offered to his son.

"Let's do it!" Duncan cheered. With that, the duo sped off.

* * *

 **Job 2: Piranha Lake**

"Okay you two, You need fuel from the flame thrower and the only source of oil are those piranha you see swimming around. Run them down with the boat - one fish fuels one shot. Hurry, you only have two minutes to get all the torches lit!" Bentley explained once Sly and Duncan reached the lake. There were 25 torches that, when lit, would open the gate to the treasure key.

"I still don't get the point of these random time limits," Duncan said as he used the flamethrower to light three torches.

"Neither do I, but hey, no clue bottles to worry about," Sly pointed out. ( **Author's note, everyone who has played Sly 1, picture if Clue bottles were in levels like Treasure in the Depths, The Murray races or Down Home Cooking. You're welcome for the nightmares)**

"Don't make me picture it! Some of those are so hard to reach!" Duncan whined. Still, even with the time limit, Duncan and Sly were able to light all 25 torches and grab the key.

* * *

 **Job complete! Also for the missions Sly and Duncan are together, Sly's victory pose goes as normal, but after he finishes, he and Duncan high five**

* * *

 **And that's one half down, one to go! See ya!**


	12. The Swamp's Dark Center Part 2

**Gamelover41592- Oh trust me, Duncan has no idea what's coming.**

 **So here's the second half and the boss fight with Mz. Ruby. This will be a special one because Duncan and Sly will be together for the entire chapter. Let's begin!**

* * *

After dropping everything off at the van, Duncan and Sly made there way over to the gate that was blocking the Ghost Production Facility.

"Wait, so how are we going to destroy that barrier blocking the ghost making place?" Duncan asked as they put the keys into the gate, unlocking it.

"I don't-" Sly began to say, only him to stop as he saw something rapidly approach. "Duncan! Get down!" He grabbed his son and pulled him onto the floor just in time for a huge serpent to leap out of the swamp and rammed the barrier. It then dove back under the water.

"Wha-what the heck was that!?" Duncan asked. He was hyperventilating.

"That was the beast," Sly said, also hyperventilating.

"So, wanna go find another key?" Duncan said, clearly trying to take his mind off of what he just saw.

"Let's just go before we both pass out," Sly agreed as they set of together to find the next key. They quickly found a hover blaster.

"We get the coolest things to ride on in these jobs!" Duncan cheered. Sly smiled as both of them jumped on. It was a little tight, but they figured it out and started off.

* * *

 **Job 1: A Ghastly Voyage**

"This is the creepiest place we have been so far!" Duncan whined once they arrived. Sly wasn't going to say it out loud but he agreed wholeheartedly.

"That makes sense, this is the most haunted place in the whole swamp!" Bentley explained to them.

"Great," Sly mumbled as he moved the hover blaster onto a rowboat that started off as soon as he stepped on it. As if on cue, several ghosts started popping out at the. Using the blaster, Sly shot them down.

"Why do we need the rowboat? If this thing can hover, why can we just hover over the swamp?" Duncan pointed out.

"I really don't know," Sly replied before turning his attention onto some fire shooting turtles hidden behind some wooden barriers. This continued until the boat reached dry land.

"What's this weird looking goop?" Duncan asked as he pointed to a soupy mix running through the swamp.

"According to my paranormal scanner, that flowing soup is really highly charged ectoplasm! It's just got to be the source of power for those headstone generators!" Bentley chimed in.

"Okay," Duncan said. Sly began to move the hover blaster around the swamp. It was mostly just blasting more ghosts and turtles. Finally, they reached the end, only to find it overflowing with ghosts.

"Hang on, Duncan!" Sly ordered. He began moving around very quickly, blasting as many ghosts as he could will still trying to hit the headstones they were spawning from. Finally, he managed to destroy all three causing the ghosts to stop spawning. Duncan jumped off the hover blaster and grabbed the key with a cheer.

"Woo hoo!" He said as he jumped back on the hover blaster. Sly smiled as they sped off.

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

"Okay, so where to next?" Duncan asked.

"Well, I heard Bentley is working on making a deal with one of the ghosts here for a key, so let's see how that worked out," Sly said.

"Okay!" Duncan said. With that the duo headed off.

* * *

 **Job 2: Down Home Cooking(AKA the job no one likes)**

"Why the does this place stink!?" Duncan whined as he covered his nose.

"Okay, you two, I managed to cut a deal with one of the ghost via my specter-wave radio. See, he wants to make a pot of gumbo, but he's afraid of the bomb-toting roosters-" Bentley began, only for Sly to cut him off.

"I'm sorry, but BOMB-TOTING ROOSTERS? Really?" Sly asked. Duncan was having another giggle fit over the name and Sly was having a hard time keeping from laughing.

"Laugh all you want, but they are really a thing. Anyways, he needs you both to kill fifty chickens. If you can do it in ninety seconds, he'll give us the key," Bentley finished. As soon as he finished, the chickens began to come out, along with the bomb-toting roosters.

"Huh, they are a thing," Sly noted as he whacked some chickens with his cane.

"I still don't get what the time limits are here for," Duncan said as he extended his cane. Using it, he swung a rooster into a few more chickens. ( **For those of you who forgot, Duncan's cane is extendable. He just doesn't like to have it extended out too far because it's hard for him to use.)**

"Again, if I knew, I would tell you," Sly said as he dodged another rooster. Even if the roosters, the duo quickly took care of all chickens. The ghost flew off, grabbing the dead chickens as he dropped the key, which Duncan grabbed.

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

"So do we have a plan to actually get to Mz. Ruby?" Duncan asked.

"Hmm...what about that egg beater?" Sly asked. It was clear he was talking to Bentley. "If we unlock that lid, we ruin the production and we could build enough steam power to launch us into the skull temple,"

"That could work, but you'll need all seven keys. There should be one more around here somewhere," Bentley said.

"Then let's go get it!" Duncan cheered. With that, he and Sly headed off for the next key.

* * *

 **Job 3: Descent Into Danger**

"Oh my god! A green waterfall overflowing with bones and body parts. I'm telling you, the health department's going to come down bigtime on this dump!" Bentley ranted once Duncan and Sly reached their destination.

"This place was already pretty gross," Duncan pointed out.

"Still, that is making me physically sick," Bentley said. While Bentley continued to rant, Duncan and Sly began their trek through the area. It was a big mess with random things floating in the water and a bone rail.

"Okay, this is getting a little morbid," Sly admitted as he slid along said bone rail. Then, it was shimmying under a platform with guards to doge.

" _Attention to all my voodoo guards, there are some bad mojo people running around. I want them sent to the spirit realm as soon as possible! Oh, and one of those bad mojo people is…...special_ ," Mz. Ruby said over the loudspeaker. Sly flinched. She knew about Duncan, that was _very_ bad.

"Dad! Move!" Duncan whisper-yelled. Sly realized he had stopped and finished crawling across. He ran over to the guard and took him out while Duncan grabbed some more clues.

"THERE YOU ARE!" A fire turtle yelled. He tried to attack, but both Coopers dodged and Duncan took him out by using his cane to knock him into the swamp "water".

"Okay, that was a little brutal," Sly said as they started making their way around a statue.

"Hey, he started it!" Duncan protested as he took out a spider on the statue's arm. They then swung over some suspended wooden platforms(Sly had a good chuckle over Duncan's tarzan yell). After continuing on, they found an area with dozens of spotlights.

"This must be the place where the green goo used in the ghost production facility to create Mz. Ruby's ghost rat army!" Bentley realized.

"Explains why this place is such a mess," Sly noted, causing Bentley to start ranting again. After laughing, the Coopers made there way across some chandeliers. Lasers then greeted them, but they dodged with ease. After getting around, another room of fire turtles and spotlights greeted them.

"Hey dad, how can the turtles through their heads and light them on fire and still be okay?" Duncan asked as he whacked another of said turtles.

"Voodoo magic?" Sly guessed. They let that sit while they jumped over some floating platforms. Duncan then smashed the siren while Sly took out a water rat guard. Up ahead were some fire nozzles that had to be spire jumped on. Thankfully, both were able to time it pretty well and got across with no burns. After getting across, Duncan grabbed some more clues while Sly took out the guards and large candle. This caused a vine to appear. The duo began to Sly down, but jumped off at a smaller platform were the clue was.

"These codes are nothing before my righteous analytical ability! The combination has to be 5-7-1!" Bentley said. Sly punched that in and pulled out what was inside. "Mind-bending! It's Matthew de la Coopeur's Perpetual Slow Motion technique. With this move you can slow down time whenever you want, not just while jumping!"

"Cool!" Duncan cheered.

"Let's grab the final key," Sly said. They slid down the vine and reached the key.

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

After dropping the the piece of the Thievius Raccoonus off with Bentley and Murray, Sly and Duncan headed back to egg beater. Using the keys, they destroyed it.

"Let's go take down Mz. Ruby," Sly said. Duncan nodded and they hopped onto the lid. Sure enough, the steam pressure launched them up to Mz. Ruby. She seemed to be waiting for them.

"Ah, Sly and Duncan Cooper. I thought I felt some bad vibes running around my base," Mz. Ruby said.

"Well, We're here to kick your butt!" Duncan said as he and Sly began to spire jump towards Mz. Ruby. It was little tricky, seeing as the mouth of the crocodile kept closing down every few seconds and then raising up. But they still made and hit Mz. Ruby with ease. However, before they could hit her again, she teleported away.

"Come back here! You can't run forever!" Sly ordered.

"Quite true. Quite true. Why don't I have my servant, Chumley escort you both over here?" Mz. Ruby offered.

"What's the catch?" Sly asked.

"Oh not much. I just want to say how well you pay attention," Mz. Ruby replied.

"Huh?" Duncan and Sly both said.

"Well, I'll unleash my mighty mojo magic upon you. If you repeat what I do, you'll dodge it just fine. If not, you'll get zapped!" Mz. Ruby explained.

"A little voodoo Simon Says, eh? Sounds easy enough. Duncan, get on my back," Sly said as bent down, allowing Duncan to jump onto his back. Sly then jumped on Chumley, who started bringing them towards Mz. Ruby. The mystic began firing out voodoo blasts at them, but even with Duncan on his back, Sly dodged with ease. This continued with Sly spire jumping up poles and riding on a giant mosquito. After all that, Mz. Ruby finally went down.

"Well done Cooper, you've got a lot of rhythm," Mz. Ruby said. She then turned to face Duncan. "You've also done a great job raising this little one,"

"Actually, Muggshot told me something about you and the Panda King. You didn't know what you were really going to my father?" Sly asked.

"Yes, our boss only told Raleigh. When we asked about it afterwards, he said we didn't have the hate to know about it. We didn't plan to kill your father. But our boss...he did," Mz. Ruby admitted, tears in her eyes. Sly could tell she was serious.

"Thanks for telling me," Sly said. He was happy that he was getting some more information.

"Bye!" Duncan called out as they left.

* * *

Sure enough, Carmelita showed up. While she wasn't able to find Sly, she did bag Mz. Ruby, who was surprising willing to surrender. As she was cleaning up, she found another note, much like Muggshot, claiming Mz. Ruby was reformable. Once again, Carmelita trusted the note, because she had a feeling the source knew what they were talking about.

* * *

 **Okay. This is done! Mz. Ruby was smack dab in the middle for me. She had an interesting back story, a cool design and powers and some of the jobs in her chapters were fun. However, the other half of the jobs weren't fun, with Piranha Lake and Down Home Cooking being some of my least favorite jobs in the series. And of course, the biggest problem with her, her BOSS FIGHT! I had the "pleasure" of playing this game on the Sly Collection and for those of you that don't know, her attacks weren't in sync to the music, so it took me nearly TWO YEARS to beat the first Sly game(I finished the second and third game first) because I kept rage quitting against her for something that wasn't even my fault. Anyways, I'll see you guys again in the mountains of China where we take on the Panda King!**


	13. Inside The Stronghold Part 1

**Gamelover41592(Sometimes I wish you weren't the only person who comments)- Yeah, Duncan seems to have a thing for villains with rough lives that only turned to crime because of those lives. (Foreshadowing?)**

 **So as I'm sure many of you could tell, I'm skipping the first mission for plot reasons. Also, here's a hint, Duncan doesn't have any fur.**

* * *

 **Sly, Duncan and the gang in...FIRE IN THE SKY**

* * *

On the way to the Panda King, Duncan and Sly both began to look over both the new page of Thievius Raccoonus, written by Slytunkhamen Cooper I, who had started Thievius Raccoonus. His special technique was how to turn invisible. Something that that a very mischievous Duncan had no issues pranking Bentley and Murray with on the way into the China Mountains. After a while, they got wise to his antics, which took a while seeing as Duncan couldn't move while invisible. But Duncan spend the rest of the trip looking over the files on the Panda King.

"Is this why we only steal from corrupt people?" Duncan asked as he pointed to a sentence in the Panda King's backstory. He was inspired by the various firework shows that the nobles threw and wanted to create his own, only to be turned away because of his shabby clothes. As such, he vowed to use his creations for crime.

"Basically," Sly admitted. Once again, he wanted to know if Panda King truly had no intentions of harming his father. But he also had a feeling Carmelita was getting another note.

"We're here!" Murray called out from the front. He opened up the back doors of the van, Sly and Duncan jumped out.

And problems started.

Duncan was shivering. He was clearly freezing. Sly was about to ask why, before he realized what the problem was.

"You don't have fur," Sly realized.

"Y-y-yeah," Duncan replied, his teeth chattering.

"Look, you should stay at the van before you freeze," Sly ordered. Instead whining or protesting, Duncan nodded and just walked back into the van. He climbed back in, grabbed a blanket, and made his way over to Bentley, who was watching Sly through a monitor. All them watched in terror as the Panda King launched fireworks at a nearby mountain, burying a village under it in snow.

"Oh my gosh, that's awful! That poor village just got buried in freezing snow!" Bentley exclaimed.

"The rocket came from that giant statue, and you can bet the Panda King lit the fuse. I've got to find my way up there fast before that lunatic squashes another town," Sly said. Duncan watched as he made his way up the mountain, even making use for the new invisibility trick he learned. Duncan couldn't help but be in awe. He really wanted to be like Sly when was older.

"Nice move, dad!" Duncan cheered as his father took out a guard.

"Thanks, Duncan," Sly said.

" _Attention to all of my guards. As you know, the village refused to buy firework explosion insurance from me. As such, they have met their fate. Make sure to defeat any who come for revenge_ ," The Panda King announced.

"Seems he's expecting guests," Bentley noted. Sly nodded as he continued. He quickly got the key and the pages in the vault. However, this time there were two pages.

"What are they?" Duncan asked.

"This just gets better and better. I'd always heard that one of your Southern ancestors, Huckleberry Cooper developed a technique to move while staying invisible!" Bentley explained.

"Thanks, and what's the second one?" Sly asked. Truth be told, he didn't remember this one.

"Huh, it seems that your scottish ancestor, Slaigh MacCooper created a technique that allows people to control their body temperatures," Bentley said.

"Gimme!" Duncan cried. He was already getting cooped up.

"Okay, I'll be back in a minute," Sly said as he made his way back.

* * *

To Duncan, it took forever for Sly to come back. In actuality, he took about three minutes. Either way, as Murray moved closer to the Panda King's stronghold, Duncan took the time to learn the moves. Both of them came easy to him. The only thing that annoyed him was that for invisibility trick, you could only walk if you were invisible. Still it didn't bother in that much. After a while, Murray arrived and Duncan and Sly headed into the stronghold. After scanning the area, Bentley radioed them

"Okay, you two, I think I have an idea to get you both up to the statue. But you're going to need to destroy that barrier. Unfortunately, it's reinforced, so you're gonna need something really tough to smash through it," Bentley said.

"How about blowing them up?" Sly offered as his eyes fell onto a set of fireworks aimed right at the barrier. They were locked up by three treasure key locks.

"That could work," Bentley said. "I've marked the location of three treasure keys on your maps,"

"See you later," Sly said as he walked off.

"Not if I see you first!" Duncan challenged as he walked off in the other direction.

* * *

 **Job 1: The Unseen foe**

Once Duncan reached the location of the key, a pagoda, Bentley radioed him.

"Duncan! This pagoda is some kind of huge gunpowder production plant. Judging by the scale, the Panda King must be making tons of explosives," Bentley exclaimed.

"All the more reason to shut this guy down," Duncan said as he began. Right ahead, there was a guard staring at the conveyor belt blocking the way. Thankfully for Duncan, he had his new invisibility moves and the guard would often doze off. As such, he was easily able to make it across and take the guard out. Two more guards were on a watch tower, meaning Duncan had to just sneak across. He would take them out later. Once he cleared the bridge, there were laser walls this time.

"Hmm, maybe," Duncan began to say. He turned his hand invisible and stuck it into the laser. As he though, the laser didn't sense him. With that, he turned himself fully invisible and made his way through the lasers.

"You are very lucky that didn't set the lasers off," Bentley chastised him.

"Dad would have liked it," Duncan replied back.

"You and Sly both will get yourselves killed," Bentley deadpanned as Duncan headed out of the pagoda. He made his way across the bridge and the watchtower, taking out the guards in the process.

"Are the guards really this dumb?" Duncan asked. He was standing right in front of a guard blocking another conveyor belt, but because he wasn't in the guard's light, the guard didn't attack. Duncan turned invisible, made his way across, took out the guard, and smashed a safe with some clue bottles in it. He then rail slid down to another pagoda, which he climbed up floor by floor. A cold wind picked, making Duncan very happy he could now control his body temperature. He couldn't dwell on that for too long, as the guards were still around, even if they couldn't see Duncan unless he was in the spotlight. The invisibility tricks were really helping.

"How are they not seeing you?!" Bentley asked as Duncan waited until the guard's light was less then an inch from him. He turned invisible and the guard turned around, allowing Duncan to knock him out.

"It sounds like you want me killed," Duncan said as he walked across a rope to reach another pagoda. After clearing some laser floors(again being able to turn invisible helped), Duncan hooked himself onto a moving hook.

Which brought him right back to the pagoda he was just on.

"Okay, why did I need to go back? Couldn't I have just reached the top without the detour?!" Duncan ranted.

"You wouldn't have been able to find all the clues," Bentley pointed out.

"Whatever," Duncan groaned. Speaking of clues, he had found the vault and was kneeling beside it.

"It was a challenge, but this vault's combination has got to be 6-6-7," Bentley deduced. Duncan opened up the safe and pulled out what was inside. "Incredible! I would have never thought this was possible! Sir Augustine Cooper's technique to briefly defy gravity!"

"Hold on, I need to try this!" Duncan said. After studying how, he did the trick and for a few seconds, he was floating off the ground.

"Incredible…" Bentley mused. Duncan jumped back into the pagoda, landing on some safe platforms to dodge the lasers. He made it to the bottom with ease and smashed the case the key was in, before grabbing it.

* * *

 **Job complete**

* * *

Duncan met up with Sly near the fireworks. Once again, Sly had found the blueprints.

"Nice," Sly said as he tested the new technique that Duncan had found. He was able to float a little higher, but he could only hold it for a few seconds.

"So the last job is over by where I was," Duncan said. He grabbed Sly's hand. "Come on!"

"Slow down, kiddo!" Sly laughed as Duncan dragged him over to where the next job was.

* * *

 **Job 2: The King Of The Hill.**

"Okay, you two, Murray is ready to make another run for this key. Provide cover for him using the turret," Bentley explained.

"Roger that, Bentley," Sly said. He and Duncan grabbed the turret, blasting the lock on the gate keeping Murray out of the treasure key area.

"Here I go, guys," Murray said nervously. He would run anytime a guard came near, but Duncan and Sly were both quick with their shots and kept him safe. Because of his, he was able to quickly reach the key.

"Way to go!" Duncan cheered as Murray held up the key.

* * *

 **And with that, the first part is done! Sorry for skipping the opening mission, but I needed a way to introduce that power to control your body temperature. It will have a purpose seeing as they go to a bunch of snowy areas and Duncan lacks fur(of and before I forget, they showed it to Bentley and Murray). Also I changed the gravity move because Duncan and Sly don't fall into pits because you aren't playing as them. Either way, next time, we finish up the chapter and face the Panda King himself.**


	14. Inside the Stronghold Part 2

**Gamelover41592- You'll find out**

 **Also, guys. Please comment! I love hearing from you guys and I know some of you may have questions, opinions ect. So don't be afraid to comment. Anyways, time for the second half and this one will be prue Duncan for the most part because Sly will be…..busy. You'll see what I mean.**

* * *

"Let's burn this candle!" Duncan cheered as he and Sly tossed the keys into the locks on the fireworks. They came to life and flew into the barrier, destroying it.

"Okay, let's see what we can find over here," Sly said as he and Duncan walked inside. There was another set of fireworks aiming right at the statue they thought the Panda King was on.

"I've calculated the trajectory of these rockets and... I'm ninety-nine percent sure you'll be able to ride them all the way up to the top of that statue before they explode," Bentley deduced

"What about that other one percent?" Duncan asked.

"Well, in that case, Duncan, you and Sly will be blown to bits - but the experience will no doubt be spectacular," Bentley replied.

"Maybe for you!" Sly fired back, while Duncan just went pale

"Either way, you'll need the rest of the keys. I put the locations on your maps," Bentley said.

"Let's just go," Sly said as he walked towards the first key.

* * *

 **Job 1: Duel by the Dragon….**

As Duncan and Sly made their way up to the key, someone fell in front of them, along with a lot of snow. The person pulled themselves out of the snow. It was a shivering Carmelita.

"F-f-freeze ra-a-acoon," Carmelita stuttered out. The threat failed because, A. She was so cold she couldn't even get her shock pistol/blaster out and B?

She was talking to Sly.

"How can I freeze when my heart warms at the very sight of you?" Sly replied.

"Worst pickup line ever!" Bentley gagged, causing Duncan to snicker.

"Let's see you try," Sly snapped. As Bentley grumbled, Carmelita giggled a little.

"I've a-a-actually h-h-heard w-w-worse," Carmelita admitted. She shivered again. "S-s-tupid out-t-tfit," It was true that Carmelita's outfit was not meant for the cold and she did not have the Cooper technique at her side

"Hey, Duncan, why don't you go get the key while I…" Sly paused. He did not know how explain this to Duncan. "...help warm your mother up?"

"Okay!" Duncan said obliviously. He gave each parent a hug before running off.

"So….shall we go?" Sly said, guestering to a nearby hut. He held his hand. Carmelita scowled at him, but let herself be lead into the hut anyways. Sly managed to get a fire going.

"Thank you," Carmelita said, a bit of venom in her voice, but Sly could tell she meant it and he could sense some relief in her voice.

"You're welcome," Sly said as he kissed her hand. Carmelita pulled away, blushing.

"How are you and Duncan not freezing?" Carmelita asked.

"Huh, oh I found a technique one of my ancestors managed to create. Let's anyone that knows it control their body temperature," Sly admitted.

"Of course one of them did," Carmelita groaned. Sly smiled. This was his chance!

"I'd be willing to teach you about it," Sly began, placing his hand under Carmelita's chin, causing her to look at him. "But, I'll need something from you," Carmelita began blushing. Admittedly, she had been a little interested to see what Sly was like when he wasn't in his thief clothes.

"I guess I could come up with something," Carmelita said, her face growing more red as she approached Sly

* * *

"So what's the vault code?" Duncan asked. He had easily made his way to the key and the vault. He had already grabbed the key but had returned to the vault with all the clues.

"Multiple blood vessels burst in my brain while figuring this out. The code had better be... 2-3-1," Bentley grumbled.

"Got it!" Duncan replied. He punched the code in and pulled out the piece of the Thievius Raccoonus.

"Amazing! Colonel Reid Cooper's Time Stopper technique! Use this to execute a flash bang that will stun all guards in the world for a few seconds! I can see how this might be useful, and entertaining too!" Bentley marvaled.

"Hey, you! Stop!" A bunch of guards ordered Duncan as they rushed him. In a panic, he read over the technique and used it. Sure enough, all the guards froze, giving Duncan time to knock them all out and run away.

"That was way too close," Bentley said.

"No kidding," Duncan replied once he finished hyperventilating. "Hey, should I just go get the next key or go find dad?

"Hang on, I'll see what he's up too. Um…..OH DEAR GOD!" Bentley screamed.

"What's going on? Are dad and mom okay?" Duncan asked frantically.

"No, they're….fine, but you should just do the last two jobs on your own," Bentley said. Admittedly, that just made Duncan more curious to see what was going on. So he returned back to the house he saw Sly and Carmelita walk into and saw….

Their clothes all over the floor and them snuggled under a blanket, face asleep.

"Okay then," Duncan mused. Admittedly, he had already figured out exactly what his parents had done because he liked sneaking R-rated movies on TV when everyone was out. He had a huge fear of clowns because of it, but eh, live and learn.

* * *

 **Job Complete?**

* * *

After finishing up, Duncan his way over to a key that was pretty close to where he had just been. He just needed to climb down a pipe and knock the guard out again. He then headed over to it.

* * *

 **Job 2: A Desperate Race**

The first things Duncan could see once he reached where the key was a snow-cone stand, a bunch of monkeys in cars and the Cooper Van. That meant Murray had been looped into another race!

"Uncle Murray! What are you doing down there?" Duncan asked. He was very concerned that this could go poorly.

"Well, I'm minding my post when I notice this snow-cone stand, and I think to myself, "Hey Murray, you've got to keep your energy up." So I hurry over here and then all of a sudden, monkeys are everywhere, bugging me to race them 3 times around this track for a key," Murray explained.

"Well, we need that key! So we need you to race! Watch out for the icy patches! We still need you and the van!" Duncan said.

"Thanks, Duncan!" Murray said. With that, the race began. Duncan would sometimes speak up, warning him about a a patch of ice or a nitro boost, but Murray was able to do most of the work himself. By the time the third lap started, Murray had a clear lead. Because of this, he was able to score the key with ease.

"Nice work uncle Murray!" Duncan cheered as he headed off to collect the final key.

* * *

 **Job complete!**

* * *

"Hey uncle Bentley? Are mom and dad gonna be finished before I go fight the Panda guy?" Duncan asked. "Because dad said I couldn't fight the bad guys alone."

"They should be done soon. I'll call Sly in a little bit. But as for now, you should go find the last key,"

"Got it!" Duncan replied as he headed over to the final key's location. Much to his joy, it was another hover blaster. However, without Sly to keep himself level, Duncan found he couldn't reach the handles. Looking around, he saw a decent sized rock. With a bit of effort, he was able to get it onto the blaster, allowing him to reach the handles and blaster. With everything ready, he set off.

* * *

 **Job 3: Rapid Fire Assault**

"So what am I going into this time?" Duncan asked.

"If I'm not mistaken, you are headed for the Panda King's main fireworks factory!" Bentley exclaimed. "You should be able to cause some major damage!" That was all Duncan needed to hear to begin his ascend up to the factory. Some monkeys began popping out of trapdoors, but Duncan was easily able to blast them and headed into the factory.

" _Attention, valued employees. It has come to my attention, that a thief is loose somewhere inside the firework production facility. Please do your part to pitch in by killing this intruder on sight. Thank you, that is all._ " The Panda King said over the loudspeakers. As if on cue, some guards showed up and tried to take Duncan out.

"Bring it!" He challenged. He already knew that the threat was going to fail because he was scrawny, small and above all else, seven years old. Even with all of that, he was still able to beat the guards. Mostly because he had the hover blaster. Duncan continued through the factory, taking out any guards and destroying any machinery that wouldn't bring the factory down if was blasted. Finally, he exited the factory and found himself on a much wider path. This time, more guards and ice barriers blocked the the way, but thanks to the hover blaster, Duncan was able to deal with them no problem and claim the final key.

* * *

 **Job complete**

* * *

By the time Duncan returned to where the fireworks were, Sly and Carmelita were waiting for him.

"Hi mom! Hi dad!" Duncan said. He was debating teasing them, but he knew that would not go over well for him or dad.

"Hi, Duncan!" Sly greeted him as he ruffled his son's hair. "So, I decided that as sort of a family hang-out, your mother will be fighting the Panda King with us!"

"Awesome!" Duncan cheered.

"Yes, this should be fun," Carmelita admitted, shooting both Coopers a smile. "Even if I don't fully like the plan to reach the Panda King,"

"Well, we were short on options," Sly replied as he and Duncan unlocked the fireworks. Both Coopers hooked their canes onto the rockets and Carmelita held onto Sly. With that, the rocketed towards the statue. It was clear the Panda King was waiting for them.

"If it isn't the fabled Coopers and Inspector Fox, I was not informed you would facing me together," The Panda King said.

"Well, I wouldn't even be here if you hadn't taken what belonged to me, but my main interest now is stopping those avalanches," Sly said, pulling out his cane. Duncan repeated the action while Carmelita pulled out her shock pistol.

"What I fail to understand is why you care? You are a thief just like me. And Inspector Fox seems to only care about stopping you," The Panda King said. Carmelita knew what that meant and the telescope behind me hammered in the answers even more.

"Unlike you, Duncan and I are master thieves. And as much as Inspector Fox likes to chase me-" Sly began.

"Enough with the innuendos!" Carmelita snapped, causing Duncan to snicker.

"-She will still book any other criminal she can find. All you are is a frustrated firework artist turned homicidal pyromaniac who owns me some answers," Sly finished

"Insolent children! You shall pay dearly for your disrespect! Still, to honor your Cooper ancestry, I will send you to your doom with the beauty of my new firework technique... Flame-Fu!" The Panda King declared. The fight was on! However, it was clear that the Panda King stood no chance. Beyond the fact it was a three against one, even when the Panda King knocked Duncan or Sly away, Carmelita was still taking potshots at him. Once he had fall, Sly walked over.

"Muggshot and Mz. Ruby claim that you didn't know were going to murder my father, is that true?" Sly asked.

"Yes, none of us were also informed that Connor had a child. One the same age as my own child no less," Panda King admitted.

"Thanks, Carmelita, he's all yours!" Sly said as he walked over to a safe. Duncan headed over to the safe to help claim the last piece of the Thievius Raccoonus, all the while slipping his mother yet another note.

* * *

 **And this is finally done. Beyond the two Murray missions, the Panda King was a really fun villain. Great backstory, fun boss fight, cool hub world, mostly fun missions. Anyways, see you next time!**


	15. The Cold Heart of Hate

**Matt(Guest)- It will be much later in the story. Because I have so much more to write about, Duncan will not hit prime age(it's a year older then the last canon age the show confirmed them as, so twenty for Duncan and all the first gen characters), until much later on. But trust me, much like Gwen, when he gets them back, it will be another shocker.**

 **Gamelover41592- Both Mz. Ruby and Muggshot said that he was not in on the plot either, so I'm surprised you didn't know**

 **BetaZackFan- It's fine, but if I were you, I'd stick with the story if you like my work as things get a lot more exciting. And who knows? Maybe it will get you into the games? Have you read Gwen's story?**

 **Okay, one thing that shocked me was that none of you commented on what Sly and Carmelita did. Or Duncan's reaction to it. Anyways, time for the final act of the first game.**

* * *

Duncan could see the look of pride on this father's face as they made their way to the Krakarov Volcano in Russia and Sly could see the same look on his son's face. They had nearly completed the Thievius Raccoonus and were on their way to confront and defeat the final member of the Fiendish Five. As they neared the volcano, however, they noticed something off.

"Hey, is that owl in every important picture?" Duncan asked.

"You're right," Sly realized. The same owl silhouette was in all the pictures they had gotten from the members of Fiendish Five. Rioichi Cooper, "Tennessee Kid" Cooper, Slytunkhamen Cooper I, and the newly retrieved Otto van Cooper. That owl was behind them all. In fact, when Sly and Duncan took closer looks, the owl was in _every_ picture.

"That can't be the same bad guy, right?" Duncan pointed out.

"It looks a lot like Clockwerk," Sly said. Clockwerk was a mysterious owl that not many people knew much about, even Interpol didn't have much information on him. Still, why was he in all the pictures?

"Clockwerk?" Duncan asked nervously. One thing that was known about Clockwerk was that he was terrifying. Sly put his hand on Duncan's shoulder, calming him down and bringing him back to focus.

"Is this a strange coincidence, or is there something I'm missing?" Sly mused.

"Hey, guys!" Murray called from the front. "We're here and it looks like we aren't welcome!"

"Looks like that's our cue," Sly said as he and Duncan made their way up to the top of the van. Waiting for them were two turrets. Otto Van Cooper was a mechanical genius and most of his notes were on vehicles, which Bentley had taken to very quickly.

* * *

 **Job 1: A Hazardous Path**

"Another door?" Dunan whined. This time, however, Sly just blasted it open with the new turret. As if on cue, Robo-Falcons began swarming the van. They were no match for Duncan or Sly and their turrets and teamwork, with Duncan's faster child reflexes allowing him to quickly blast any that got too close to the van while Sly's more keen eye allowed him to snipe plenty from afar.

"Whoa! Cool tower!" Duncan said. The supposed tower the shot a laser at volcanic wall, causing rocks to fall towards the van.

"That's no tower - it's a giant Death Ray! Sly, Duncan, take out those rocks or we're in trouble," Bentley cried.

"You don't need to tell me twice!" Duncan replied as he shot the rocks, blasting them to bits. Mines also began to appear on the path. Sly shot them, while Duncan continued to blast the Robo-Falcons and rocks. Even with all of the obstacles, Duncan and Sly were easily able to clear a path.

"There's the way in!" Bentley said as he pointed at a opening.

"Alright!" Murray cheered.

"Murray! Wait!" Sly warned but it was too late. Murray drove straight through, causing the guns to break off, as the ceiling was too low.

* * *

 **Job 2: Burning Rubber**

The van rolled into a large cavern. A bunch of computers were hanging from the ceiling.

"Now what?" Duncan asked as he peered over his uncle's shoulder.

"We'll need to analyze those computers," Bentley explained. "However, because _someone_ trashed the new turrets…"

"I said I was sorry!" Murray protested.

"I'll need to hack into the computers' connection couplings," Bentley continued. "Then, Murray will need to run them over,"

"Let's do it!" Murray cheered as he drove under the computers. However, as Bentley released them, some fire slugs appeared.

"Murray. There are only 119 computers up there and these Fire Slugs seem intent on getting to them before us. The first one to 60 computers wins!" Bentley said.

"No problem! These Fire Slugs are no much for THE MURRAY!" Murray declared.

"That's new," Sly noted.

"I just thought it sound cool," Murray protested.

"It does," Duncan reassured his uncle.

"Awesome!" Murray cheered as he continued to run over the computers. A brand new battering ram on the front of the van helped him defeat any Fire Slugs that got to close. As such, Murray was able to get all the computers with ease.

"Looks like Duncan and I need to go on foot from here," Sly said as he jumped out of the van, Duncan following close behind.

"Let's do it, dad!" Duncan cheered.

* * *

 **Job 3: A Daring Rescue**

"Whoa, you think there's a enough security in here?" Sly joked. The room was filled to the brim with every type of security the duo had faced at that point.

"No kidding!" Bentley agreed. "It's best you don't bother,"

"Dad, look!" Duncan panicked as he pointed across the room. Inside a much smaller room was Carmelita, trapped in a capsule.

"Carmelita!" Sly panicked, sharing his son's feelings. "We need to save her!"

"I understand Duncan, but you too, Sly?" Bentley protested. "All she does is try to lock you up! Plus that is could be a trap by Clockwerk"

"But if I don't do anything Carmelita is doomed. Besides, stealing just wouldn't be any fun without her," Sly replied.

"Also, Dad likes her!" Duncan added in. Sly glared as his son as he blushed. Across the room, Carmelita was also blushing.

"Sly, your ridiculous raccoon logic sends shivers up my shell. But do whatever you want," Bentley said. With that, Duncan and Sly set off. Sly jumped up to a higher platform, where, after a few minutes of sneaking, he was able to lower a barrel.

"Okay, Duncan, listen very carefully, you need to use the barrel to sneak past the those spotlights and dart shooters. Got it?" Sly explained.

"I got it!" Duncan said. With that, he hopped in and started moving. Sly couldn't help but be in awe. His son was a natural at this! Duncan seemed to know exactly when to stop so that the spotlights wouldn't see him and the barrel blocked the darts. Even Carmelita seemed impressed. Finally, Duncan reached the end and smashed both the siren and the dart blasters, allowing Sly to reach Carmelita.

"Sly, what are you doing?!" Carmelita hissed at him. "This is a-" Before she could finish, the door to the room slammed shut, locking Duncan out and trapping Sly inside. Gas started to flow into the room.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha — you sentimental fool! Empathy has always been the downfall of the Cooper clan!" Clockwerk taunted from a computer screen.

"Mom! Dad!" Duncan cried as he started trying to smash the room with his cane.

"I knew this was a trap. Looks like I'm going to have to do some fast and furious hacking to shut down that gas before Sly and Carmelita's brains is turned to cheese," Bentley said over the binocucom.

"Hurry!" Duncan panicked. He was already freaking out, but seeing as Sly had just passed out and Carmelita looked weaker every second. After what felt like the longest minute and a half ever, the gas stopped and the door opened.

"Uh, my head," Sly groaned as he pulled himself off the floor. He then freed Carmelita, causing Duncan to tackle them both into a hug.

"Thank god you are both okay!" Duncan cheered. Sly smiled before hugging back. Carmelita was a little slower to register everything but once she did, she gleefully returned Duncan's hug.

"Now let's get out of here before the gas comes back on!" Sly said once they stood up.

* * *

 **Job 4: A temporary Truce**

"Okay, Sly, let's get something out of the way, thank you for saving me," Carmelita said as the family continued to the death ray. "Just for that, I'll give you a ten second head start,"

"How much time do I get?" Duncan protested.

" _Why is he so cute?!_ " Carmelita mentally complained as he started kissing her son, who began complaining like any boy his age would, but smiled nonetheless. Sly just laughed.

"Seems like mom's just gonna let you go," Sly teased as he ruffled his hair.

"No way I could send my little boy off to jail," Carmelita fired back, causing everyone to laugh. Once they got outside, a Robo Falcon suddenly, appeared, catching them off guard, and stealing Duncan and Sly's canes. Carmelita reacted first and shot the bird. However, it caused the canes to land at the end of a nearby structure.

"Huh... what? I need that cane! It's been in my family for generations! And Duncan's-" Sly began, only for Carmelita to cut him off.

"Don't worry, ringtail. I'll cover you both while you get them back. If you can, make your way to the top of the death ray. I stashed my jet-pack there before Clockwerk nabbed me. You and Duncan should both be able to fit,"

"Now that we're a team and all, I hate to leave your side," Sly flirted.

"Just go before I change my mind!" Carmelita snapped, but she blushed nonetheless. With a wink, Sly started towards his cane, with Duncan quickly following. Some Fire Slugs tried to attack, but Carmelita's shots were able to defeat them with ease. Because of this, Duncan and Sly quickly grabbed their canes and started off towards the death ray. As Carmelita headed back inside, she turned to face the thieves.

"Good luck you two,"

* * *

 **Job 5: Sinking Peril**

"There's Carmelita's jet-pack right where she said it would be. But you'll both need to hurry. The magnetronic support field for the death ray got destroyed as you were making a run for your cane. You'd better hurry, this whole thing is about to fall apart!" Bentley warned them.

"Well, you don't need to tell me twice!" Duncan replied as he started his ascent.

"I'm on it," Sly said much more calmly as he jumped after his son. As if on cue, the death ray started sinking into the lava.

"It's sinking fast! Climb, guys, climb!" Bentley ordered. Not needing much more of a reason then that, Duncan and Sly climbed up as fast they could. Even the traps on the death ray could do much to slow them down. Finally, they reached the top. The jetpack had two sections. One for Sly to steer and one for Duncan to shoot.

"Let's do this!" Duncan cheered as he and his father strapped themselves in and took off.

* * *

 **Job 6: A Strange Reunion**

"Good riddance!" Sly said as the Death Ray finished sinking into the lava.

"Sly! Duncan! Behind you!" Bentley warned them. Sly and Duncan turned around to find a giant mechanical owl rise out of the lava. It was Clockwerk.

"Sly Cooper, you have escaped my gas chamber and destroyed my death ray. Remarkable. You Coopers always find a way to beat me!" Clockwerk said.

"Always?! So that was you in the background of all those old pictures in the _Thievius Raccoonus_. How old are you?" Sly asked.

"Perfection has no age…" Clockwerk said. Both Coopers quickly figured out what that meant.

"What?!" Duncan exclaimed

"You're immortal?!" Sly added.

"Revenge is the prime ingredient in the fountain of youth. I've kept myself alive for hundreds of years with a steady diet of jealousy and hate, awaiting the day when I would finally eclipse your family's thieving reputation." Clockwerk revealed.

"Sly! Duncan! My missiles don't hurt him but seem to create holes in his armor. Shoot into the gaps I create!" Carmelita announced.

"Got it!" Duncan cheered. Clockwerk began attacking, which caused Sly to start moving. Admittedly, Duncan struggled a little as he wasn't used to shooting while moving, but he soon quickly got the idea.

"Nice shooting Duncan! You got him!" Bentley cheered. But just as Duncan and Sly went for a high-five, Clockwerk rose back out of the lava.

"Wow! That's one tough owl," Duncan marveled. Sly, however, wanted answers.

"I don't get it. You're so familiar with my family — you must have known my father had a son. If you hated the Coopers so much, why did you let me live when you stole the Thievius Raccoonus?" Sly asked.

"Because I wanted to show the world that without your precious book, the Cooper line was nothing!" Clockwerk replied.

"Ah, well, there's where you're wrong. The Thievius Raccoonus doesn't create great thieves... it takes great thieves to create the _T_ hievius Raccoonus!" Sly replied.

"Yeah!" Duncan agreed as he blew a raspberry at Clockwerk.

"Enough, Sly and Duncan Cooper! It ends here. I'll finish you like I finished your father. Then the Cooper line will be erased and the only master thief will be Clockwerk!" Clockwerk announced.

"Not if we can help it!" Sly replied. The battle continued, with Clockwerk adding laser rings that needed to be shot in order for Sly and Duncan to pass through unharmed. Carmelita continued to fire her missiles and Duncan shot at the holes they formed while Sly controlled the jetpack. Finally, they were able to down Clockwerk again.

"Now's your only chance! You've got to get to his head and destroy it before his auto-reconstruct circuitry kicks in!" Bentley ordered.

"Got it!" Sly said as he set the jetpack to autopilot and jumped onto the wreckage. Duncan hesainted to follow, but decided to swallow his fear and jumped after his father. It was a harrowing experience, as the debris was barely above the lava and Clockwerk was doing his best to keep them away. Finally, they reached his body and began smacking his head with their canes.

"Cooper! You will never be rid of me! Clockwerk is superior!" Clockwerk ranted just before Sly whacked his head off, turing those into his final words.

* * *

"That was close!" Duncan exclaimed once he and Sly had made it up to a walkway. It was tricky, but the duo had managed to collect the final pieces of the Thievius Raccoonus.

"Seems like this is finally over," Sly said.

"Not so fast, ringtail!" Carmelita said. She was holding both Sly and Duncan at shock pistol point.

"I'm gonna just go," Duncan said with a cheeky grin as he raced pass his mother, the Thievius Raccoonus clutched in his grip.

"So Inspector Fox, do I need to count down?" Sly asked, leaning on his cane.

"Just go!" Carmelita hissed.

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1! Sly planted a big kiss on Carmelita's lip before he raced after Duncan. For a few seconds, Carmelita felt like she was on top of the world!...until she realized that Sly had handcuffed her to the railing. Thankfully, he had left the key in her pocket.

* * *

"Hey dad?" Duncan asked.

"Yes, Duncan?" Sly replied.

"Can we get a victory pizza when we get home?" Duncan stated.

"I second that!" Murray called from the front.

"Sure thing!" Sly said. The gang all laughed.

* * *

 **Sorry this took so long to write! Anyways, Clockwerk is, hands down, the best villain in the Sly Cooper series. He looks awesome, he sounds awesome, he has one of the best boss fights in the series, he has a awesome backstory, the jobs are fun, and even the music is awesome! Next few chapters will just be fluff and will also serve to introduce a few OCs I have planned. Keep the comments coming. See ya!**


	16. Victory Pizza and a Stowaway

**Gamelover41592- Glad to know the wait was worth it!**

 **Okay, so this was something I had laid plans out for a while and it involves four OCs I have planned out. Originally, I was planning into introduce them all in one chapter, but I couldn't get events to flow very well, so the plan was changed. Anyways, let's begin.**

* * *

"Duncan, this may have been the best idea you ever had!" Murray said in between bites of his pizza. As soon as the gang returned to Paris, they had decided to follow up on Duncan's idea for victory pizza. That would have been good enough, but the big shocker came when Carmelita turned up at the restaurant and joined them.

"How did you find us?" Bentley had asked. He was having a salad because he was allergic to tomatoes.

"A little birdie told me," Carmelita explained while looking right at Duncan and Sly.

"What?" Duncan asked, his mouth still full of pizza. He already gone through around five slices and was onto his six. "Mom helped us beat Clockwerk!"

"So, Duncan and I felt that she deserved to be included in this little victory dinner," Sly explained a bit more in depth as he placed his arm around Carmelita's shoulders. She thought about shoving him off, but instead just snuggled up to him.

"As long as she doesn't try to arrest any of us," Bentley conceded.

"Yeah!" Murray agreed as he reached for another slice of pizza.

"Relax, I found out that if I don't see you commit a crime or on the way to one, I can't actually arrest you. Plus, Duncan is still off limits in my mind," Carmelita explained as she ruffled Duncan's hair.

"When won't I be off limits?" Duncan asked.

"Never, because I _refuse_ arrest my own son," Carmelita told him, causing the table to burst into laughter as Duncan faked a pout.

"But I won't get to be a thief if you don't arrest me!" Duncan pouted.

"Your father's a thief and I've never been able to put cuffs on him," Carmelita pointed out.

"But you handcuffed my heart," Sly flirted. Duncan smiled, Murray started making a kissing face, and Bentley just rolled his eyes.

"At least you can get a little creative, you should here some of the stuff from the new recruits that come in, 'I bet your tail smells like heaven,' Ugh!" Carmelita ranted.

"That's just creepy," Bentley said before turning to Sly. "I take it back, you _don't_ have the worst pickup lines I have ever heard,"

" _Thank_ you!" Sly said, exasperated. Everyone laughed. Bentley watched as Duncan grabbed his 10th slice of pizza.

"You are so gonna be sick later," Bentley moaned.

"It'll be worth it!" Duncan declared. Whoever created Pizza, that person deserved to be a saint.

* * *

"So this was over a _spider_?" Sly scolded a very embarrassed looking Murray. After dinner(Duncan had stopped around 12 slices), everyone began walking towards the van. Carmelita had walked and Sly had made the offer to take her home. She had agreed. Murray had run ahead to start the van but came back screaming about something horrible inside of it. The rest of the gang had come running over only to find an equally startled spider.

"Hey, do spiders normally have metal on them?" Duncan asked as he looked over the spider, which was currently trapped in a jar. This got the adult's attention.

"Me let explain!" The spider said. The gang jumped. If they all knew one thing, spiders of that size shouldn't be able to talk.

"See?!" Murray whined. "That is not a normal spider!"

"Clockwerk made I, but me thrown out because I hate can't!" The spider explained. Despite the jumbled up way of talking, the family could clearly understand what the spider was saying.

"That still doesn't explain how you ended up in the van," Bentley pointed out.

"After Coopers Clockwerk defeated, me hid van in for life new," The spider said.

"Can I keep it?" Duncan begged, even putting on his best puppy dog eyes. Bentley refused to budge, but unfortunately for him, Sly and Carmelita were wrapped around Duncan's finger.

"Fine," Carmelita said.

"Two rules, one, you look after him and two, if he tries to kill any of us, we squish him no matter what," Sly added in.

"And he stays out of my room!" Bentley said quickly.

"Deal!" Duncan said as he lifted up the jar, causing the spider to active a little propeller and fly up to Duncan's shoulder.

"Master new!" The spider cheered.

"Hey, do you have a name?" Duncan asked the spider.

"SRF-372!" The spider told him.

"How do you even pronounce that?" Duncan asked, trying to think of a better name. The first three letters gave him an idea. "How does Scruffy sound?"

"Like I it!" Scruffy cheered. Duncan laughed as he took his spot in the van. His parents and uncles were still a little unsure about letting one of Clockwerk's creations so close to their son/nephew, but as long as it made Duncan happy(and didn't attempt murder), they would ignore it for now.

* * *

 **Short chapter is short but this didn't really need to be long. I'm just lazy and that's why this took so long. Anyways, next chapter will see the intro of the next few OCs who will be major characters later on. Oh, and if anyone cares, Scruffy looks like Duncan's original Scruffy(the one from the show), just with cyborg parts covering parts of his body.**


	17. Friends to the End

**Shadow Joestar- Well, Scruffy is gonna join, but it's gonna take these three a bit longer to join**

 **Gamelover41592- I felt really bad for Duncan when Harold got him killed and the idea was also partly inspired by the fic this particular story was based on.**

 **Guest- I tried to make the ending as cavity inducing as possible. Looks like it worked.**

 **I already know this is gonna be a very long story. How? Because we nearly have the same amount of chapters as Gwen's story…..and Duncan is still a little kid. Oh, in this chapter(and for the next story arc) he is now nine. The only thing that has changed about his appearance is that he got taller. Anyways, as I promised last time, the final three OCs for this story.**

* * *

Duncan smiled as the cashier handed him his bag of donuts. Being a thief had advantages when it came to money. Now that he was a little older, Sly was willing to let him go places on his own. He could only go about a mile from the safe house and he couldn't go into the nastier parts of town, but who cares? It was freedom! It was nicer out that day, so Duncan had opted to sit at one of the tables outside the cafe.

"I come can out now?" Scruffy asked.

Duncan laughed. "Come on out, buddy!" Scruffy crawled out from under Duncan's hat and onto the table. Seeing as a boy walking around with a cyborg spider was bound to raise some eyebrows, Scruffy had taken to hiding under Duncan's hat whenever he came with Duncan somewhere. Granted, it was a still a little awkward if Duncan started talking to Scruffy and made it look like he was talking to himself, but it was still better then Scruffy being in his pocket.

"I can donut have?" Scruffy asked. Duncan smiled as he pulled out one of the donuts. He set it down in front of the spider, who quickly started biting into it. One thing that Duncan had discovered very quickly was that his new pet would eat nearly anything edible that was put in front of him. Naturally, Duncan began thinking of ways to use that to his advantage. Most just eating his vegetables and other gross food.

"Now!" A voice called out.

"Huh?" Duncan asked, only to notice someone rushing towards his table. Unfortunately for them, Duncan had insane reaction time now. He grabbed his food and Scruffy(who quickly crawled back into Duncan's hat) and jumped away from the table, causing the person to crash into it and fall into the ground. Before he could get up, Duncan slammed his foot onto the guy's chest, keeping him pinned.

"Hey, let me go!" The guy, who Duncan could know tell was a wolf about the same age as him.

"Why should I?" Duncan snapped at the wolf. "You're the one who tried to rush me!"

"W-w-we j-j-ust wanted the donuts," A second voice said. Duncan turned around, still keeping his foot on the wolf. Behind we was a very nervous looking oddly colored griffin(The bird parts were black instead of white or tan) and a weasel that didn't really seem to understand what was going on who were both around the same age as him.

"So?" Duncan asked. "Go inside and _buy_ some for yourselves,"

"And how would we do that?" The wolf asked. "In case you didn't notice, we don't have money,"

"Oh gee, I don't know, _ask your parents_!" At this point, Duncan just wanted these three morons to leave him alone so that he could just go back to his donuts.

"Nope, can't do that, we don't have parents," The weasel said, despite the wolf and griffins attempts to shut him up.

"What do mean you don't have parents?" Duncan asked. His interest was peeking.

"We live on the street moron!" The wolf snapped at him. Duncan felt himself lose all of the gusto he had just had. Only now, he realized that the threesome was basically wearing rags. He had just connected the dots. These three somehow didn't have any family other then each other. He stepped off the wolf.

"Here and don't follow me," Duncan asked. Now he really wanted to leave. He shoved two 20 Euros into the griffin's chest before starting to walk off.

"W-w-wait!" The griffin called after him. Duncan sighed and turned around.

"What?" Duncan asked.

"T-t-t-thanks," The griffin said.

"And thanks for the bruise!" The wolf added in.

"Hey, you started it!" Duncan snapped. The wolf walked over to him and got in his face. The duo glared each down before Duncan broke one of his donuts in half. He bit one half and shoved the other into the wolf's mouth.

"That makes up for it," The wolf said, calming down a little. By that point, the griffin had already gone into the cafe and was now walking out with a bag of his own. He beckoned the wolf and weasel over before turning to Duncan.

"W-w-wanna join us?" He offered.

"I guess," Duncan said as he stood the table back up. Everyone sat down and Scruffy decided to climb out of Duncan's hat.

"Cool pet!" The weasel awed as he started looking over Scruffy.

"Thanks," Duncan said.

"W-w-why is he m-m-metal?" The griffin asked.

"Very, VERY long story," Duncan said as he bit into one of his donuts. "Name's Duncan by the way and the spider's Scruffy," Scruffy just gave a wave.

"Hunter," The wolf said, a scowl still on his face.

"My name is Buck! Nice to meet ya!" The weasel said as he grabbed Duncan's hand and began shaking it, ignoring the fact they had already met. Duncan turned to griffin, who had been quiet.

"M-m-maverick," The griffin said.

"That's the coolest name ever! Why are you shy about it?" Duncan asked.

"Because it's not his real name," The wolf hissed.

"Huh?"

"I-I changed my name a-a-after my parents ditched me. O-o-one day, they just l-left me in s-s-school and took off. They h-hated me because of my f-f-f-feathers and t-t-this s-s-stuttering problem. I n-n-never asked to be like this," Maverick admitted.

"I'm sorry that happened to you," Duncan said, a little shocked Maverick was willing to share all that with him.

"M-m-my real name is A-a-asblik," Maverick explained.

"Translating, means it trash," Scruffy said for Duncan. Duncan wanted throw up. So not only did this guy's parents toss him out for things he couldn't control but they had the _gall_ to name him trash?

"If I _ever_ meet them…" Duncan said, trailing off as he thought of horrible things to do to Maverick's parents.

"Gee, shame you can't do anything to my parents. I never even knew them. First thing I remember is living on the streets," Buck admitted, sharing very personal things without realizing yet again. Duncan was close to exploding. So did Buck's parents just toss him when was a baby? Or did he take a hit to the head?

"Hey, how'd you get the scar?" Duncan asked. Buck took a moment to trace the scar that ran done his left eye.

"Failed scam on some thugs," Buck admitted. "It evolved getting married to a pineapple. AN UGLY PINEAPPLE! But it was a beautiful marriage,"

"O….K," Duncan said as he and Scruffy shared a glance. How crazy was this kid.

"Maybe it was beautiful to a nutjob!" Hunter snapped.

"Hey, lay off. You haven't shared your sob story!" Duncan pointed out to the wolf, who suddenly lost all of the gusto he had.

"Just because they shared doesn't mean I have to," Hunter barked at him.

"H-h-h-Hunter, just d-d-do it," Maverick begged.

"Fine, but me make this clear. If this guy turns over to the state, I'm blaming you!" Hunter snapped. Duncan rolled his eyes at the idea that would turn them in a place like an orphanage. Dad's horror stories were enough to keep him from that.

"So what's yours?" Duncan asked.

"My dad...well, he liked to beat me. If I did one thing wrong, it was blood and bruises. I ran off one day and never turned back. Thing is, for the first year, my dad had a lot of power so he had a bunch of goons after me, but I haven't seen them in a while," Hunter admitted. To most people, it would seem like he never lost his stone cold expression.

But Duncan was not most people.

He could clearly see the sadness in his eyes. The pain as he talks about someone who was supposed to be a loved one instead becoming his nightmare. Duncan had so many questions. But he knew one thing for sure.

He was not letting these three kids back on the streets.

"Um, hey, if you guys want, maybe you could stay at my house?" Duncan offered. Hunter looked at him like had said he was a magic wizard.

"And how do we know this isn't a trick for you to turn us into the cops?" The wolf snapped. Duncan groaned. He had an idea, but it was _insanely_ risky.

" _But since when has dad ever cared about risks?_ " His brain told him.

"W-w-well?" Maverick asked. With a grin, Duncan nodded at Scruffy, gave a nod back, and pulled out a Cooper calling card.

"Why would I turn you into the cops when I'm not to fond of them myself?" Duncan asked as he slid the card over to Hunter. He picked it up. The look in his eyes screamed that he was trying to find some way to deny it. But even he knew the truth.

The boy sitting in front of him was a Cooper Thief.

"You're a Cooper?" Buck whispered. Duncan nodded, grateful that Buck could whisper. "That is awesome!"

"H-how much m-m-money do you have?" Maverick asked.

"Not bad," Hunter said, even though Duncan could clearly tell he was interested.

"So do you guys want to crash in my place or not?" Duncan asked as he grabbed the card. The answer was clear.

* * *

Sly smiled at the scene in front of him. Admittedly, he was a little unsure about the idea of letting these three boys who Duncan had _just met_ stay in the hideout, but after Duncan told them how he had met them, Sly agreed. Plus, the only people Duncan would freely talk to were himself, Bentley, Murray, Carmelita and Scruffy. It wasn't very healthy for Duncan to have no friends his age.

But back to the scene.

The boys had all fallen asleep playing a video game that Duncan had. Trying not to disturb any of them, Sly pulled the controllers way from them and placed them on top of the TV, before turning it off. He then grabbed a blanket and placed it over the boys. As he walked to his own room, Sly couldn't help but notice how similar it was to his own meeting with Bentley and Murray. Just boys bonding over sweets.

"Who knows? Maybe he'll have his own gang someday?" Sly said to himself.

 **Yay! More SAPPINESS! I'm sorry about all the cavities. Anyways, feel free to tell me your thoughts on Buck(also for Buck alone, he was inspired by a movie character. Anyone who can guest will be PMed an upcoming plot), Maverick(The black coloring and stuttering are birth defects)and Hunter. Anyways, next time, we begin game two!**


	18. A Shadow from the Past

**Gamelover41592- You're about to find out.**

 **Okay, it's time to begin the second game. This is going to be kinda a short chapter because Duncan will cut the run time down a lot. You'll see what I mean.**

* * *

This was bittersweet. Duncan was pumped that he got to go on a big heist for the first time in nearly two years and Scruffy would be coming with him. The bad news was that due to a lack of training, Buck, Hunter and Maverick couldn't come with them. Sly had left them some money and they said it was fine, but Duncan could tell that they were going to training in hopes of joining him soon. Then there was the matter of what they were actually stealing.

"How did anyone think that pulling the Clockwerk pieces out of the lava was a good idea?!" Duncan ranted. They were stealing from a museum that had the bright idea to display the parts as an exhibit! Just the idea made Duncan want to smack some sense into the person that had that idea.

"I don't why they just didn't let the pieces melt," Sly mused

"They probably just thought that he looked nice," Bentley pointed out. Admittedly, Duncan was interested to see how Bentley was going to fare going into the field for the first time, instead of just being mission control. Murray too, seeing as he had no turret protecting him.

"Guys, we have arrived!" Murray shouted. One thing that had changed about Murray in the two year gap was that he had gotten much stronger and louder.

"Okay, so the plan is to steal the pieces in order to destroy them for good!" Sly told everyone. Once everyone, Scruffy included, had nodded back, Sly opened up the van's door. He then headed of with Duncan, while Murray and Bentley went off in different directions.

* * *

"Breaker Alpha Foxtrot this is the Wizard, do you read me Sitting Duck and Fireball?" Bentley radioed over the binocucom. Duncan couldn't help but roll his eyes. Bentley was being more nervous then Maverick and that was saying something. He had insisted on a bunch of crazy code names for the missions. Duncan just thought he was crazy.

"This is Peking Duck and Snowball. We hear you, Blizzard," Sly replied.

"No Sly, I'm "the Wizard", you're "Sitting Duck" and Duncan is "Fireball." Bentley explained.

"We read you loud and clear, Lizard," Duncan added in.

"No I'm... forget it, neither of you taking this seriously," Bentley groaned.

"Yeah, we're not," Duncan answered bluntly. He didn't know why, but he really liked making his uncle squirm. Probably because Sly did too.

"Look, Bentley, I know this is your first time out in the field but you've got to loosen up. If we're going to get to those Clockwerk parts I need you on your toes. So in plain talk, what's your status?" Sly asked.

"Well, I've established myself in the basement, and I'm pretty sure I can rewire the service elevator if you can power it up from that security station. Also, there is a vent system heading straight to the parts nearby. I believe that Duncan could fit through them and scout ahead," Bentley said.

"Hang tough pal. It might take some time, but I'll figure out a way to get up there," Sly said. He then turned to Duncan, who had just found the vents. "You and Scruffy gonna be okay?"

"Be we'll fine," Scruffy said as Duncan gave a thumbs up. Once Duncan had begun his trek through, he grinned.

"You gonna be okay destroying your creator?" Duncan asked his pet, who had climbed out from his hat and was crawling in the vents just a little further ahead of Duncan.

"Wants Duncan creator dead. Do I what Duncan wants," Scruffy said.

"Thanks buddy," Duncan laughed as he continued his crawl through the vents. He could overheard Sly, Bentley and Murray talking over the binocucom every once in a while. He still had no idea why, but thinking about his dad, his uncles and even his mom, who wasn't on the same side of the law as him, made him feel really good. He felt loved, it was great. But so what? Most parents loved their kids. What made them so much more special?

"Here?" Scruffy asked. Duncan looked for the marker on the binocucom. It said this was the room. But there was a problem.

"Where are the parts?!" Duncan realized. He then saw his mom rush into the room with another officer, a white( **author's note: She looks purple to me, but the game claims white so I'll go with that)** bengal tiger.

"Do we have any leads on who stole the parts, Constable Neyla?" Carmelita asked the tiger.

" _Constable Neyla? Why has mom never brought her up?_ " Duncan thought as he turned to face Scruffy. He had turned one of his legs into an antenna. "What are you doing?" He whispered

"Recording!" Scruffy revealed.

"So you have a recorder in you?" Duncan asked. When Scruffy nodded, Duncan smiled. "I guess you are just full of surprises!" He then turned back to the conversation.

"I'm shocked you didn't just try to pin this on _that_ Cooper Gang you're always chasing, " Neyla replied to Carmelita. Duncan swallowed his rage

" _ **That**_ _Cooper Gang?_ " Duncan mentally snapped. " _What are we?! Common street thugs?! Wait, is she trying to egg mom on?_ " He realized two things. One, Neyla was going be interesting to deal with and two…

He hadn't even met her and he already _really_ didn't like her.

"I don't think this was their handy work. They normally only knock the guards out, not injury them and method of entry was not the they would do it," Carmelita explained. Duncan caught a shocked look on Neyla's face for a moment, but she returned to her former expression after a second.

"True, if anything, I think this looks more like the work of the Klaww Gang," Neyla explained.

"Hmm, I'll have to review their files. Let's go," Carmelita said. Once they were both out of the room, Duncan turned on his binocucom.

"Dad, uncle Bentley, uncle Murray, abort the mission! The pieces are gone already!" Duncan frantically revealed.

"WHAT!?" All of they exclaimed in surprise.

"To make a long story short, mom and some new officer lady came in and talked about the crime. The new lady, Neyla, mentioned a group called the Klaww Gang. Scruffy has a recording-long story, but we should get out of here," Duncan said.

"Okay, everyone head back for the van and we'll plan our next move," Sly said dejectedly.

* * *

"... _Let's go_ " The recording finished. Once everyone had gotten back, Duncan had Scruffy play the recording.

"Never heard of this Klaww Gang," Bentley mused. "I'll need to do a little more research. Same about this new Constable,"

"That Constable Neyla. Was her reference to the Klaww Gang just a slip of the tongue, or an intentional clue? Either way, it's our only lead on the missing Clockwerk parts," Sly thought out loud.

"How could it have been a clue? She didn't even know I was there!" Duncan pointed out. "And she was just talking to mom. All I know is that I don't like her,"

"Let's just get back to Paris," Sly said as he sank into his seat. Duncan could tell why there was such a dejected mood. Clockwerk was not something that needed to be repeated and the Klaww Gang shouldn't have stolen those pieces.

Because now, the Cooper Gang was coming after them.

* * *

 **And** _ **Sly Cooper: Band Of Thieves**_ **has begun. Sorry to anyone that wanted Buck, Hunter and Maverick to join the gang. But as said, they don't have the training to do it yet. Don't worry, they will join eventually, I promise. Anyways, next time, we take down the first member of the Klaww Gang, Dimitri**


	19. The Black Chateau

**Shadow Joestar- You got that right**

 **Gamelover41592- Trust me, it will be worth it**

 **Now with the beginning out of the way, we can move on to the first mission in the gang's home town of Paris. Let's begin.**

* * *

"Um, what?" Was all Duncan could say about the first target. Dimitri was once a failed art student who found that the world wasn't ready for his "Kinetic Aesthetic." As such, he started forging old masterpieces and opened up a nightclub on the side. Duncan had no idea how a group as infamous as the Klaww gang would take this nut case in, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was that he had the Clockwerk tail feathers somewhere.

"It doesn't matter what much of a nutcase this guy is. All that matters is that he has the Clockwerk tail feathers, so let's head out," Sly ordered. He then turned to face Duncan. "But first things first, there's clues scattered around. You think you can head out and find them and whatever safe they have the code too?"

"Is that even a question?" Duncan bragged as he headed out. Or at least, Sly thought he did.

* * *

"Thanks for the help guys," Duncan said to his three friends. Inside of running off on his own, Duncan had decided to give his friends a taste of the thief life.

"No problem," Hunter said as he handed over the clues he had found.

"Yeah! Breaking things has never been this fun!" Buck added in.

"T-t-thanks for letting us c-c-come," Maverick said.

"It was nothing guys. I mean, a small area is one thing, but a whole city? Yeah, no thank you," Duncan joked as the guys laughed. Admittedly Duncan smiled when he still saw them in the safe house. A doubt in the back of his head told him that he was going to come home to a ransacked house and his three "friends" would be gone. Although, as far as Duncan could tell, they had only left the house to buy new clothes or food.

Hunter was now wearing a matching black hoodie and black sweatpants(with a hole for the tail). At first, Duncan found it surprising that he wasn't wearing shoes, but when they were looking for the clues, he noticed that Hunter could climb up some types of walls…

Buck had picked out a tan deerstalker cap(which Duncan thinks Buck chose to be cool looking), a white tan top, green shorts(thankfully, it was camo green, and not something ugly and again, there was a hole for the tail), and sneakers. Duncan had noticed that he could scale poles as if he was a Cooper...

Maverick had somehow got himself a pair of prescription glasses(which made Duncan feel bad as he didn't realize that his friend was nearsighted) and was also wearing a flannel shirt(with holes for his wings) and cargo pants. His flight had come in handy, but the main thing Duncan had noticed was that he had reprogrammed one of Bentley's old drones…

"Let's get this thing cracked!" Buck said once they had reached the safe. Duncan smiled as he knelt down.

"It took some higher level math, but I believe the code to Dimitri's vault is 2-3-1," Bentley explained. Duncan dialed in the code and pulled out a set of blueprints.

"Something called a Knockout Dive?" Hunter read the title.

"P-p-please d-d-don't test that o-o-on us!" Maverick panicked.

"I wouldn't mind having this tested on me," Buck dreamed, missing the point of a _Knockout_ dive.

"Let's just get back so I can figure out what this does," Duncan sighed.

* * *

 **Job 1: Breaking and Entering**

After finding out that all the Knockout Dive did was improve on the dive move he already knew. Duncan headed over to his first job. Sly had already taken on two(changed Dimitri's satellites and following the guy) as had Murray(Destroying Dimitri's aqua pump and his alarms). So Duncan knew had to pick up the paste.

"So are what doing we?" Scruffy asked.

"Not fully sure," Duncan said. All he knew was that he needed to break into his cellar for something. He was surprised to find Murray waiting for him.

"Good to see you, little buddy. I guess the way through the wine cellar is guarded by those rats. Bentley thought you might like some help clearing them out," Murray explained.

"Sounds like fun. You, Scruffy, me, back to back," Duncan smiled.

"Totally! Outnumbered... fighting impossible odds... it's perfect!" Murray cheered. Duncan smiled. His uncle's enthusiasm was infectious sometimes.

"Let's do it Uncle Murray!" Duncan replied back. They made it to the entrance of the wine cellar where, sure enough, there were guards waiting.

"Fear "The Murray"!" Murray challenged. Duncan just pulled out his cane. One of the bonuses that came with getting older was that he could extend his cane out all the way and it was great. He didn't feel like a little kid, he felt like a true Cooper. Either the guards attacked, but they were quickly taken out by either Duncan's cane strikes, Murray's strength or another new feature Scruffy revealed, his sleep darts(like Bentley). Because of this, the guards were quickly taken down.

"Nice job, Uncle Murray!" Duncan said as he jumped to give his Uncle a High Five.

"No problem, Duncan! No problem is too large for "The Murray"!" Murray bragged before turning to a set of bars blocking the way into the cellar. "Let me lower these for you, but it looks like you'll be on your own from now on. You know that new technique that lets a Cooper kick off air in order to get more height hat Sly created?"

"The double jump?" Duncan asked before showing off that very same move to get over the bars. "Yeah, I think I know,"

"Good luck!" Murray called after him.

* * *

"Finally, I can actually attack!" Duncan whispered as he snuck up on an unsuspecting guard. Whether it be lasers, guards, or guards watching laser controls, Bentley kept telling him that it was too dangerous for him to be seen. He used a brand new move on the guard, the sneak slam to knock him out, all without the guard ever seeing him.

"Well done," Bentley said after Duncan finished.

"Well, I had this itch to knock something out," Duncan noted. He then walked into the next room, where a bunch of guards were.

"Well that itch better not come back because getting into a fight would be a very bad idea," Bentley warned.

"Oh relax, I have a plan," Duncan said before using the invisibility trick and just walked across the room and once he was out of the guard's sight, turned visible again.

"Okay, I'll admit it, that was clever," Bentley sighed.

"See, I told dad that his genius was rubbing off on me," Duncan joked.

"I wouldn't really call it genius," Bentley deadpanned. Then he noticed something behind a piano that Duncan was near. "Aha, another air vent! Judging by the angle, it should lead to the printing press room,"

"Could you all figure from just vent a?" Scruffy asked.

"I swear I need to fix your voice processors, but yes, I could," Bentley bragged. Duncan laughed as he yanked the cover off the air vent and dove into it. Once he found his way out, all he could smell was paper and ink.

"I think I found the place," Duncan said.

"Jackpot! The heart of Dimitri's operation. Head for those windows and take some reconnaissance photos," Bentley ordered.

"Got it," Duncan said. He looked out over the window. Inside, he could make out what looked like a printing press, but the plates weren't normal at all. "Are those the tail feathers?!" He then pulled out his binocucom and snapped a picture.

"Ingenious! Dimitri's using the Clockwerk tail feathers as printing plates. Given their rare alloy they'll never wear out. Unlimited forged money!" Bentley revealed. Duncan wasn't as impressed

"Seriously, this guy gets a piece of an ancient evil who's own hate kept him alive for hundreds of years...and all he can think to do with it is _making fake money_?!" Duncan exclaimed. "That's...lame,"

"Well, people have their own ways of doing things?" Bentley offered.

"A what loser!" Scruffy agreed with his master, who proceeded to snap a picture of a generator.

"That generator seems to be powering the security systems down here," Bentley noted.

"Oh, so this guy does have common sense," Duncan said.

"Why does Dimitri get the vibe some mad fireball boy be insulting his greasy sweet style?" A voice said. Duncan dove behind the wall. When he looked out, he saw Dimitri. With only a few quick moments, Duncan was able to take a picture of Dimitri and duck back behind the wall.

"Seems like you got all the pictures we'll need. Head back to the safe house, and we'll cook up a plan of attack once Sly gets back from planting a bugged painting in Dimitri's office," Bentley said.

"Got it," Duncan said.

* * *

 **Job Complete.**

* * *

Once Sly returned to the safe house, he and Duncan gave each other a high five.

"Seems like you've been busy," Duncan joked. Sly just smiled and ruffled his son's hair.

"I guess that just means I'm the better thief," Sly fired back. Despite knowing that was true, Duncan still faked being offended.

"I'm hurt, I'm truly hurt," Duncan said, causing Sly to laugh.

"Let's go," Sly said as he motioned for Sly to follow him.

* * *

 **Job 2: Theater Pickpocketing**

Inside the building, Duncan spotted several guards, along with some fast moving fans and some spotlights.

"Okay, there's the power boxes which route to the printing press area. To take care of them, I'll need you to put a splice clip in those spotlights,"

"Sorry, Bentley, but those fans are spinning way too fast to walk on," Sly replied back.

"Yeah, I really don't want to become sushi," Duncan added.

"They can be slowed down from that control panel," Bentley explained before placing a marker on the panel. Duncan and Sly turned to face it.

"How do we slow them down?" Duncan asked.

"I was getting to that," Bentley said, quieting Duncan down. "You'll need to do some pickpocketing to get it. The guards are carrying special fragile keys that will be destroyed if you attack. Make sure you pickpocket their keys before you take those thugs out,"

"Got it," Sly replied before turning to his son. "Let's split up, it will let us grab the keys faster," Duncan just nodded for his part and the two split up. With his invisibility skill, Duncan was easily able to avoid the guards' line of sight and swipe the keys.

" _Check 1. Check 2. Solid. Dimitri on the mic with a shout-out to all my nightclub samurai. Stand tall and feel beautiful. I hear there's some raccoon dude giving us static! If y'all spot this cracker-box, BAM! Make him unhappy, take no prisoners, go hardcore, extreme, all over his FACE! OK, peace out,_ " Dimitri said over the loudspeakers.

"I'm offended. He didn't even mention me!" Duncan said to his father as they walked over to the control panel.

"On relax, if anything you should be happy. It means you've been more sleathly,"

"Went we on jobs less," Scruffy said.

"That too," Sly said once he finished inserting all the keys into the control panel. Sure enough, all the fans quickly slowed down.

"Let's go!" Duncan said as he started making his way up to the spotlights. Sly quickly followed and once the duo had reached the top, Sly placed the splice chip into the spotlights.

"I'm overriding the spotlight security guns. That should do it. No more security in the printing press room," Bentley said, taking control of the guns and using them to blast some power boxes.

"Nice," Duncan cheered. He kinda wanted to get back to the safe house. He had found a lot of loot in some of the guards' pockets.

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

 **Job 3: Moonlight Rendezvous**

"Hold it, Coopers!"

Duncan and Sly both whipped around, but instead of Carmelita, who they were expecting, Constable Neyla was standing behind them.

"Constable Neyla, another police woman hot on my tail," Sly said. Duncan gave him a rough shove, then gave him a look that screamed "do that again and I'm telling mom".

"Seems like you two are both smart enough to realize who was behind that theft," Neyla said.

"How did you know we would be after the parts?" Sly asked, suspicion clear on his face.

"Please, you don't think I know about the history of the Cooper line?" Neyla scoffed.

"So what does it matter to you?" Duncan asked.

"I'm not as black-and-white as Carmelita. I know what a menace those Clockwerk parts are, and I don't want the likes of the Klaww Gang putting them to use," Neyla explained.

"So, what, it takes a thief to catch a thief?" Sly asked.

"Don't we do that anyway?" Duncan asked.

"Something like that. But, if I'm going to trust you, in this case, I need to know that you can keep up... literally," Neyla replied.

"Literally?" Duncan asked.

"Don't fall behind," Neyla said bluntly before running off. Now Sly and Duncan understood, they had to chase after Neyla.

"This feels weird, normally _we're_ the ones getting chased," Duncan pointed out to his father as they ran.

"I guess so!" Sly laughed. The chase continued all over the city, until they finally reached an area behind Dimitri's nightclub.

"Well done, Cooper boys, we should work well together," Neyla complemented. However, as both Sly and Duncan noticed, she didn't sound very sincere.

"Glad you approve," Sly said, trying to hide the distrust he now felt.

"Now, legally I can't enter Dimitri's nightclub without a warrant... but I happened to have obtained a key to his backdoor... which a person like yourselves can use however he pleases," Neyla said. Duncan was excited.

"Oh, we are absolutely going to work well together," Duncan replied. Neyla just tossed them the key before heading off.

"That job inside the disco will require my demolition skills. Head on back to the safe house. I should be all geared up for the field by the time you arrive," Bentley radioed over the binocucom.

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

Once Bentley had finished, he pulled up a slideshow, showing the final plan.

"Okay, fellas, the dominoes are all in place. Time to pull off the big heist. First, Murray will help me break into the old water tower. From there, I should be able to shut down the plaza fountain. Dimitri's sure to send someone out to get the repair truck. Sly, Duncan, you'll pickpocket the truck keys off this guy once he shows up, then hand them off to me and Murray in the plaza. We'll go steal the truck while you climb to the top of the nightclub's peacock sign. When you're in position, Murray will fire the truck's winch line up to you and we'll use it to pull down the sign. If my calculations are correct, the impact should create an entrance to the printing press room. Then, you two jump in, grab the Clockwerk tail feathers, and we all get the heck out of here!" Bentley explained. Everyone gave a thumbs up. It was time to begin!

* * *

 **Job 4: Operation: Thunder Beak**

"Guys, the water pressure to the fountain should be disabled," Bentley radioed to them.

"Yeah, it just turned off," Duncan replied.

"They're already sending out the repair guy to fix it up," Sly added in.

"Pickpocket the keys to his repair truck without being seen," Bentley ordered.

"Got it!" Duncan said. The duo came out their hiding spots. It wasn't very hard to grab the keys. Then they made there way back to the fountain.

"It's all you," Sly told Bentley and Murray as he tossed them the keys.

"Let's head out for the repair truck!" Murray said to Bentley. Once to duo left, Sly turned to face Duncan.

"Come on, we need get to the top of the sign for phase three!" Sly said as he started climbing. Duncan started climbing after him.

"We're in position!" Duncan radioed to Murray once they had reached the top.

"Great, we're just driving up right now. Get ready to grab the tow harpoon!" Murray replied. After a few missed shots, Sly was finally able to grab it.

"Hook's on, pull away!" Duncan said, only for a bunch of guard to come after the van.

"Guys, the guards are onto us. Protect the truck!" Bentley said.

"Think you?" Scruffy snarked as Duncan and Sly jumped down. Between their canes and Scruffy's darts, all the guards quickly fell.

"Do you run out of darts?" Duncan asked his pet once they had finished. Scruffy just shrugged. Finally, the sign fell.

"Okay, you jump in, grab the Clockwerk tail feathers, and we're out of here!" Bentley called after them as Duncan and Sly ran inside. Once they got to the printing press room, they found Dimitri waiting for them.

"Gah! So... Raccoonus Doodus, you're like totally bumming my house up and bringing me down. So very uncool. Why can't you let birds and bees be free, bro?" Dimitri asked.

"Did what just he say?" Scruffy whispered to Duncan.

"I have _no_ idea," Duncan admitted.

"Listen, Dimitri, you have no idea what you're playing with. It'll bring more than your house down…" Sly replied.

"Look, bro. I see that you are a tough cowboy... a man with taste... style... vision... a connoisseur of finer things. Like me. Look, I'm sure that two cats in a bag like us can work something out, yeah? We smoove, yeah? Look... see the money? You like the money? You can take all you want. I can—" Dimitri tried to bargain.

"No deal. You and the rest of the Klaww Gang have to be stopped. Clockwerk will never again see the light of day. Just hand over the tail feathers and we can—" Sly begin to say, only for Dimitri to cut him off.

"What is this with clocks, bro? Have you no vision? Are you hearing what I beam to you? You think you have juice? Don't show me a little mind when talking about such big things... you think you can swing the bat? Show your bling and let me shine you!"

"I have no idea what you are saying!" Sly said as he pulled out his cane.

"And your suit sucks!" Duncan said as he pulled out his own cane.

Dimitri screamed. Normally, he was a pretty chill guy, but _dissing the suit_?! That meant war!

"Let's dance!" Dimitri challenged. Despite being able to put a good fight, he quickly fell to both Coopers.

"Thanks for the warm up," Duncan snarked.

"You take Clockwerk feathers and my counterfeiting operation, it's past tense," Dimitri scowled.

"I'm doing you a favor. What kind of thief prints money? There's no honor in that," Sly replied.

"You... Cracker-Boxes! Ahh.." Dimitri said before passing out.

"Should we be offended by that?" Duncan asked his father.

* * *

It was a close getaway because Carmelita and Neyla had turned up. She claimed that she had a gotten an "anonymous tip" about Dimitri. When Neyla asked about it, Carmelita said that she didn't know anything about the person. As the gang prepared to leave, Duncan still couldn't shake the feeling his gut that Neyla wasn't who she seemed to be.

* * *

 **And I can close this out. So Dimitri is probably one of my favorite characters in the** _ **Sly Cooper**_ **. He is so funny! I love his "greasy sweet" speech patten. His boss fight and world were pretty cool too. Anyways, next time, we had for India to take on Rajan!**


	20. A Starry Eyed Encounter

**Gamelover41592- I think he knew. Why would he join the gang if he didn't?**

 **Shadow Joestar- Yep, but Duncan already has his eye on this constable.**

 **Hello! I think you know the drill so let's go!**

* * *

Duncan smiled once he found the safe. A new lead had popped up from Carmelita on where some of the Clockwerk pieces were. The wings were in the hands of a spice lord named Rajan. He was going to show them off at a ball at his new "ancestral palace". This sent the gang straight to him and Duncan had been told to hunt down the clue bottles while Sly did some recon. It wasn't to hard. After all, a palace is a lot smaller then a whole city.

"I'd love to see the look on Rajan's face when he finds this vault empty. The code has to be 8-5-7," Bentley radioed him. Duncan punched the code in and pulled out what was inside.

"Insanity Strike?" Duncan asked as he looked over the blueprints.

"Looks that fun!" Scruffy said. **(That looks fun! From now on, I'm translating what Scruffy is saying)**

"Oh heck yes it does," Duncan agreed. He turned around and saw a group of unsuspecting guards on patrol. Duncan jumped behind them and smacked the one in the back with his cane, which was covered in a purple mist. Suddenly, the guard started attacking the others, who begin attacking each other.

"Oh yes, this will be fun," Duncan laughed as he headed back for the safe house

* * *

 **Job 1: Lowering the Drawbridge**

Sly had tried to get himself into the dance, only to find he had to get a tuxedo. While he was doing that, Duncan had been sent out to lower a drawbridge.

"Duncan, Murray and I can't get inside the palace unless you lower the drawbridge," Bentley explained.

"Love too, but I think the winch is locked up. Where are the keys?" Duncan asked.

"Keyguards have recently taken up position around the palace. Sneak in, pick all of their pockets, and bring the keys back to the locked-down winch," Bentley said.

"Got it," Duncan said. He was easily able to pickpocket the guards. As long as they didn't see him, he had no problems with it. However, on the last guard, Bentley radioed him.

"You'll need to use noise to lure that guard from his post. Try ringing that gong and picking his pocket when he returns to his post," Bentley said.

"Okay," Duncan as he smacked a nearby gong with his cane.

"Hey! Who's there?!" The guard demanded. Duncan hid behind the gong and just to be safe, turned himself invisible. After a few seconds of looking, the guard turned around, giving Duncan free range to steal the final key.

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

"Looking good, dad!" Duncan said once he arrived back at the safehouse. Sly, in his suit, was modeling for the gang.

"It better be good, seeing as Sly is going to be our main distraction," Bentley said.

"Huh?" Murray said as he walked back in from his own job, destroying one of Rajan's choppers.

"Seeing as the Clockwerk wings are in the main ballroom, we'll need to steal them with everyone there. As such, we'll need Sly to dance with one of the women in attendance and I think we all know who Sly is going to pick.

"Carmelita _does_ look lovely in that dress," Sly mused.

"Does Neyla not look good enough?" Bentley joked. Sly glared at him.

"So, any jobs for the rest of us?" Duncan asked as he swung his cane over his shoulder.

"In fact, yes, I'll need you and Murray to help me gain control of a winch in the ballroom," Bentley explained.

"I guess I'll see you guys later," Sly said as he headed off.

* * *

 **Job 2: Boardroom Brawl**

Duncan crawled out of a drain pipe inside the boardroom. Almost instantly, Bentley radioed him.

"Murray's round features prevent him from fitting through the drain pipe, so we'll need you to unlock the vault room from the inside. I've heard through a reliable source that the guards keep the vault combination written beneath one of their break tables," Bentley said.

"Why would they keep the combo under the table?" Duncan asked.

"So that the guards don't forget it," Bentley explained. "Just start looking!"

"Okay, yeesh!" Duncan complained. There were a lot of guards, so Duncan was forced to use his invisibility power. He would turn it off if he saw a table, but it took a little while to find it.

"Found it!" Duncan quietly cheered.

" _Attention vault room guards, allow no guest entry to the inner workings of the palace. This party is supposed to be legitimate, and I don't want my flawless reputation being spoiled by some flunty who doesn't know how to lock a door! The spice trade is dangerous work, particularly for those who anger me!_ " Rajan announced over the loudspeaker.

"Okay then. Gotta be more careful," Duncan noted as he made his way over to the vault keypad. 46583271, that was the number. The lasers deactivated, and the vault door opened, letting Bentley and Murray in.

"Thanks for breaking us in, pal, "The Murray" approves," Murray said as he gave a thumbs up.

"No problem, Uncle Murray," Duncan replied.

"Let's get down to brass tacks. I need to hack both the vault room computers to get control of the electronic winch above the ballroom," Bentley explained.

"So, what are Uncle Murray and I here for?" Duncan asked.

"The second I enter their servers they'll be onto us. You guys need to work together to keep the thugs off my back," Bentley explained.

"You and me, Uncle Murray, side by side and beating up bad guys!" Duncan cheered.

"Here I'm too!" Scruffy snapped as he crawled onto Duncan's shoulder. **(I'm here too!)**

"Didn't forget about you, buddy," Duncan assured his pet.

""The Murray" knows no fear." Murray claimed. Seeing as his protection was ready, Bentley began hacking.

"Okay, I'm in. Hacking the level six barrier," Bentley told them. As if on cue, guards swarmed the area. Duncan and Murray gave a nod and charged.

"I wonder how dad's doing," Duncan mused to himself as he took out another guard.

* * *

Sly proudly strutted, dressed in his new suit. He started walking around, making it look like he was a guest who had just stepped out for a moment. Neyla saw him and started walking over, but Carmelita beat her to him.

"Relax, Carmelita. I just wanted to see how good this one was at dancing," Neyla said.

"Perhaps you would see better by watching him dance with another women. Can't focus on him when you need to watch your own feet," Carmelita replied. Neyla smiled.

"You make a good point. He's all yours," Neyla said as she walked off.

"Now, let's dance," Carmelita said as she dragged Sly to the dance floor. Once they had began, she leaned closer to his ear. "What are Duncan, and his uncles up to?"

"It seems you know me pretty well," Sly chuckled. "If I had to guess, they setting up for a plan to steal the wings.

* * *

"I'm unstoppable! I've got control of the winch. Thanks for the backup, guys," Bentley said once he had finished.

"No problem," Duncan said, leaning on his cane to support himself. He was tired!

""The Murray" had no problems beating those punks!" Murray said as he flexed.

"Murray, Duncan, let's hook up the direct feed and get out of here while the coast is clear," Bentley said.

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

Back on the dance floor, Sly continued to dance with Carmelita, with both doing their best to avoid kissing the other. They _did_ have to pretend they didn't know the other.

"Maybe once this whole mess is over, we can go out for a _real_ dance," Sly offered.

"Sounds good to me," Carmelita said seductively as she ran her hands down Sly's back. Sly purred.

* * *

 **Job 3: Elephant Rampage**

Duncan found himself standing in front of an Elephant pen. "So what's the plan?"

"We need to find a way to get Rajan's prize elephants out of their pen," Bentley explained. All that did was make more questions then answers, but Duncan figured Bentley would explain things to him at some point.

"I don't think I can move that door," Duncan groaned. He noticed a hole leading under the pen. "Maybe I can crawl in that hole under the steps and find a way to make the elephants do it?"

"I don't think you can make the elephants do it, but go nuts," Bentley said as Duncan crawled into the hole. Once inside, he spooked two rats that were in there, causing them to go up and scare the elephants, making them burst free.

"Told you I could make the elephants do it!" Duncan bragged. Bentley just sighed.

"The rats you just scared went up and freaked out the prize elephants. They're outside rampaging around the palace," Bentley explained as Duncan climbed out.

"Wow, they really look spooked," Duncan said.

"A job well done, Duncan. Now comes the hard part. I need you to snatch the headdress jewels worn by both elephants. The jewels are firmly embedded, so keep whacking at them with your cane to knock one loose," Bentley said.

"I think I should be able to use the roofs to get onto the elephants," Duncan mumbled to himself. He climbed up to the top of the nearest building and when the elephant came back around, Duncan leaped on and started whacking at the headdress. However, as soon as he got one jewel free, the elephant threw him off!

"Will this then harder thought I," Scruffy moaned. **(This will be harder then I thought)** Duncan gave his pet a deadpan look

"Yeah, because I'm sure that it's much harder just sitting in my hat then it is actually having to jump onto the scared elephants, try to stay on them, whack the gems off and carry them around," Duncan snarked, causing Scruffy to give off a surprisingly adorable pout. Duncan chuckled and climbed back up to the roofs. When the elephant came back, Duncan jumped back on, but this time, it tried to swat him off with it's tail.

"Jump over that elephant's trunk if he tries to swat you off his back!" Bentley warned. Despite the elephant now putting up a fight, Duncan was still able to get the other two gems. The saddle on the elephant then broke.

"Alright!" Duncan cheered as he offered his finger to Scruffy for a high five.

"You got all the jewels off that elephant, now focus on the other one," Bentley ordered. It wasn't very hard as this elephant had the same pattern as the other, just in a different area.

"All that's them of!" Scruffy cheered as Duncan claimed the last gem. **(That's all of them)**

"That's it. With these jewels, I can make an ultra-hard radial saw for the heist," Bentley said.

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

"Synchronize your watches: this heist is going to take extreme precision. Here's the plan. I'll start things off by demolishing the palace's main bridge. That should cut off reinforcements from the guesthouse and hopefully distract the ballroom guards standing watch over the Clockwerk wings. Thanks to Sly and Carmelita, we have the perfect cover for me to lower Murray into the ballroom on the electronic winch. Once down, he'll cut the wings free and then winch back up for an exit. Murray should then make his way out of the palace. I'll cover his exit with the RC chopper. Once he crosses the drawbridge, we're home free," Bentley explained. Everyone gave a nod.

* * *

Sly couldn't help but give a smile. He could see Murray cutting the wings loose.

"So are you really okay with me stealing the wings from right under Rajan's-and technically your-noses?" Sly said.

"Back at HQ, the scientist boys want to hold onto the parts in order to study them. Seeing for myself what that monster has done, I think it would be best if you got them. To destroy them," Carmelita said.

"Well that's a relief," Sly said as he dipped her, giving her a view of Murray pulling the first wing up," Carmelita chuckled.

"Also, tell Duncan that Mz. Ruby, Muggshot, and the Panda King are all up for an early parole," Carmelita admitted. "I think he would want to know that they didn't end up in the Contessa's prison," Sly shuddered. The Contessa ran a special prison, reserved for the most dangerous and determined criminals. She would hypnotize the prisoners into leading better lives.

"I'm sure he'll be happy to hear that," Sly said.

"Speaking of the Contessa, she claims that when she gets you, it will be her masterpiece," Carmelita said.

"You mean _if_ she catches me, right?" Sly asked. Murray was just about done with the second wing.

" _If_ she catches you," Carmelita corrected. Sly brought her in for another dip, showing her that Murray was done and that he had to go.

" _Kiss her!_ " His mind screamed. But Sly knew he couldn't break his cover. Instead he brought her up and kissed her hand.

"It was wonderful dancing with you, sir," Carmelita said, going back to the act that they didn't know each other.

"As it was with you, miss," Sly said as he wondered back into the crowd, just in time for Rajan to notice the theft.

* * *

"Let's get out of here!" Murray said as they van drove off. They found out that Rajan had gotten away and had fled into the jungle, causing the gang to make plans to chase after him, as Bentley guessed he had another piece. Meanwhile, Sly was telling Duncan the news about Mz. Ruby, Muggshot and the Panda King.

"That's awesome!" Duncan cheered. "Maybe we could see them after this is over?"

"Sounds good to me," Sly said. Duncan just snuggled into his father, who's stomach started tying itself into knots that weren't Carmelita-related for once.

* * *

 **And this is done! I'll give my thoughts of Rajan himself next time, but the job was pretty fun and naturally, watching Sly dance with Carmelita made me squee like a fangirl. Also, if any of you have Deviantart accounts, feel free to draw fan art. Just credit me for the story and let me know. Gwen's story is under the same rules. See ya next time!**


	21. The Predator Awakes

**Gamelover41592- Hey, thanks!**

 **Shadow Joestar- Oh trust me, the Cooper Gang aren't the only ones in for a shock…..**

 **Now for the first of the three chapters that really didn't need to be in the game. Thankfully, I have a way to make this a bit more interesting.**

* * *

Duncan hugged himself as he made his way over to the safe. The gang had managed to track Rajan into his spice production plant in the deep jungle. Meaning walking. And then it started _raining_. He wasn't going back out for a while. He may have had the temperature regulation, but that only worked with normal weather, so it did nothing to block the rain out.

"What's the code?" Duncan asked, his teeth chattering.

"Good thing I'm fluent in Sanskrit or this last code would've been impossible. Try...3-8-6," Bentley said. Duncan did what he was told and opened up the safe.

"A voltage attack?" Duncan read the top of the blueprints. He gained a wicked grin. Spotting a nearby guard, Duncan attacked. The guard was electrocuted and was knocked out instantly.

"Is this be gonna fun," Scruffy said, rubbing two his little legs together. **(This is gonna be fun)**

"Yeah, when it's not raining," Duncan said as he hugged himself again.

* * *

 **Job 1: Freeing the Elephant**

"Thank god the rain stopped," Duncan mumbled to himself. After getting back and drying himself off, Duncan had been content to relax in the safehouse. However, when the rain stopped for a bit, he knew he couldn't resist the fun of being a thief and had taken on a job.

"Rajan is able to monitor all of our communications out here with that elephant-driven satellite array," Bentley said. Duncan looked out at the elephant, who was hooked up to a satellite dish.

"That's really bad!" Duncan painked before realizing who he was talking to. "You got a plan for shutting it down?"

"Don't I always? Now, the local spice plants are illegal for good reason. Eat too many and you'll go into a fit of uncontrolled rage," Bentley explained.

"Note to self, _Never let Murray touch it_ ," Duncan said to himself before taking another look at the elephant and realizing the plan. "Oh I get it! I need to put some of the spice in the elephant's food, he eats and BOOM! The satellite is in pieces!"

"A crude interpretation of the plan, but accurate. The trick here is harvesting the spice plants. You'll have to do some serious climbing as they only grow high up in the jungle canopy," Bentley explained.

"Got it! I just hope I'm done before the rain starts back up," Duncan said. He checked the binocucom. Bentley had marked the locations of the plants on it.

"Right one us above!" Scruffy exclaimed. **(One right above us!)**

"Let's get climbing," Duncan said. This continued each time the duo found a new tree with the spices in it. After a little while, they had all six spices plants.

"Now take all the spice plants you've collected to the elephant's feed basket," Bentley said. With a giggle, Duncan slipped the plants into the basket when the guard looked away, before climbing back into a tree. Sure enough, as soon as the elephant ate them, it went into a rage and smashed the satellite.

"Long so, satellite!" Scruffy said with a mocking wave. **(So long, satellite)**

"You will _not_ be missed!" Duncan added while he climbed down after making sure the elephant was safely gone. The duo laughed all the back to the safe house.

* * *

 **Job complete**

* * *

Back in the safehouse, Bentley had called everyone together.

"I've got some bad news: Rajan's gone into hiding somewhere in the temple. I guess the destruction of his satellite array and my invasion of his personal space to get the blueprints spooked him. To get his portion of the Clockwerk heart we'll need to drive him out into the open. Given Rajan's spice-addled temper, I recommend making him angry. First, we'll destroy the center of his operation, the spice grinder. Then, we'll demolish the dam above the temple in an attempt to flood him out. If that doesn't work, I've made arrangements to exchange one of the temple's facade rubies for some high explosives which, if necessary, we can use to flood the whole temple grotto. If my psychological profile is accurate, Rajan should pick up the other half of the Clockwerk heart before making his escape. Effectively, bringing it to us," Bentley explained.

"Seems like a good plan," Duncan noted.

"Let's get going," Sly said. Duncan grinned as he followed his father.

* * *

 **Job 2:** **Neyla's Secret**

" _I'm not even surprised at this point_ ," Duncan internally groaned when Neyla had shown up again. He still didn't trust her at all. Either way, he watched her as she spoke with his father.

"Cooper, we meet again," Neyla said.

"It would appear so," Sly said.

"What are you doing here? And where is mo-Inspector Fox?" Duncan asked, praying Neyla didn't notice his slip up. Thankfully, she didn't

"Old Ironsides is finishing up with some arrests back at the palace," Neyla explained.

"Seems like you must have gone ahead," Sly deduced. All that did was build Duncan's successions

"Anyways, the task at hand. I've learned of a secret entrance leading to half of the Clockwerk heart. Legally I can't enter the premises without a warrant, but now a thief like you two…" Neyla said.

"A thief like me or Duncan can go wherever he pleases. I read you," Sly said.

"Don't fall behind while I lead you to the entrance. This place is thick with guards and standing still could be lethal," Neyla said before starting off.

"I hear that, sister," Duncan said as he and Sly chased after Neyla. He didn't want to admit he didn't trust Neyla to his dad yet. After all, he could be wrong. Either way, he did his best to keep with Neyla, who was running a few feet ahead. Eventually, they had made it to a hidden door.

"This is it. And remember, if push comes to shove I never showed you this door," Neyla said before running off. Duncan and Sly then slipped inside.

"Hey dad, do you feel like you are getting angry in here or is that just me?" Duncan asked.

"No, I am too. It must be the spice vapors," Sly replied. They started looking around and saw a piece of the heart!

"There it is, just like Neyla said," Sly said.

"In order to lower the Clockwerk heart, you'll need access to that control panel... but it's locked down tight," Bentley explained over the binocucom. Duncan turned to face the panel he was talking about and saw that there were two chains

"Oh, I'm sure these guards won't mind if we "borrow" their keys," Sly replied. It wasn't hard to nab the keys, as there only two. With a grin, they unlocked the control panel, used it and grabbed the first half of the Clockwerk heart.

"That's it, half the Clockwerk heart! The spice won't be growing around here anytime soon," Bentley said.

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

"Don't you Neyla trust, you do?" Scruffy asked. **(You don't trust Neyla, do you)**.

"Nope," Duncan replied. The rain had picked up again, so he was waiting back at the safehouse. "There's just something about her I _really_ don't like.

"Understand I. Is shady she," Scruffy agreed. **(I understand. She is shady)**

"Exactly! How would she have a key to Dimitri's nightclub and know about Rajan's hidden door?!" Duncan exclaimed. He didn't have time to finish because Sly, Bentley and Murray had all come back from their missions.

"You seem a little out of sorts. Is something wrong?" Sly asked.

"I don't trust Neyla at all," Duncan said bluntly. "You don't think it's a little suspicious that she just so happened to have a Dimitri's nightclub and know about Rajan's hidden door?" The three older men put so thought into that.

"Hmm, you make a point, but if she is helping us, we can't really complain," Sly pointed out.

"However, that is still a very good point," Bentley noted. "But that will need to wait, because I have a plan to take the second half of the Clockwerk heart," This got Duncan to completely forget about Neyla. Bentley opened up his computer.

"Partial flooding didn't work, so it's time to go the distance. Blowing up the temple's elephant mouth should turn this grotto into a swimming pool. Duncan and I'll cover Murray from the chopper's gun turret while he pries the mouth open. Once that's done, Sly will need to walk the Cherry Bomb 500 into the throat, then get to high ground as fast as you can. Rajan is sure to show up and be extra angry. Jump him, snag his half of the Clockwerk heart and we're out of here!"

"Let's do it!" Duncan cheered.

* * *

Duncan couldn't believe his eyes. After helping Murray, he and Bentley had moved into some nearby bushes were Duncan watched as his suspicions came true. First, Neyla let Sly get hit by Rajan's lightning. Then after Murray beat, Rajan, Neyla showed up with the Contessa, Carmelita and a bunch more cops. Carmelita must have known they were watching as she gave them a look that screamed "I'm sorry,"

"There they are Contessa, just as I promised. The Cooper Gang and Rajan all incapacitated," Neyla said.

"Excellent police work Constable Neyla. Carmelita's never been able to catch the Cooper Gang, yet you capture them in just a few short weeks," The Contessa congratulated Neyla. Just seeing both of them basically insult Carmelita was making his blood boil.

"Well, I never…" Carmelita began to say, before the Contessa cut her off.

"Really Carmelita, accept your defeat gracefully," The Contessa chastised. Duncan could feel his breathing get heavier. On his shoulder, Scruffy was getting worried.

"Actually, Contessa, there's a good reason Inspector Fox never caught the Cooper Gang... she's been in league with them the whole time!" Neyla revealed. Now, Duncan's eye was twitching.

"Liar! Prove it!" Carmelita challenged.

"This is a photo of Carmelita dancing with Sly Cooper on the night the Clockwerk wings were stolen," Neyla said, pulling out side picture.

"But I didn't know I was dancing with Cooper," Carmelita lied.

"Also, we found some emails on her personal computers from the Cooper gang. Adding onto this, when I confronted Cooper and his son earlier, he was going call Carmelita mom!" Neyla revealed. Duncan mentally cursed his carelessness.

"So where is this son? I don't see the turtle either," The Contessa noticed. Duncan's anger was replaced by fear as he and Bentley ducked down, trying to keep from being seen.

"I don't think we'll need to worry about them. The son hasn't even hit his teen years yet and the turtle is the weakness member of the gang," Neyla said.

"Very well. Men, place Inspector Fox under arrest along with the other three," The Contessa ordered.

"I'll get you Neyla... don't think I won't," Carmelita vowed as she was lead away.

"Not if I get her first," Duncan said to himself. The anger had returned in full force.

"Such a pity when an officer falls from the light," The Contessa said to Neyla.

"Yes... indeed," Neyla said.

"I can't believe it... that double-crossing, cockney... _liar!_ " Bentley exclaimed. Then he noticed, Duncan standing up. "Duncan, are you okay?" Duncan yanked up him.

"Come on! I have a plan!" Duncan ordered as he raced towards the Contessa and Neyla's helicopter transports.

"What are you doing?!" Bentley asked.

"Saving them!" Was all Duncan said.

* * *

"So this is your game, backstabbing us all?!" Sly demanded as Neyla lead him and Murray to a prison helicopter. Carmelita had been placed on another with the Contessa already. Sly already knew what was waiting for both him and Murray when they arrived.

"Afraid so Cooper," Neyla said before grabbing Sly by his collar. "Oh and if I ever see him, I'll personally brainwash your boy!" Behind them, an invisible Duncan crept towards her.

"If you lay one hand on Duncan, I will tear you limb from limb!" Sly replied with anger normally unknown to him.

"YEAH!" Murray roared from behind him.

"But how will do that, when you don't even remember him?" Neyla asked. As if on cue, all the guards were knocked out. They fell over, sleep darts imbedded in their necks.

"Get the hell away from my dad and uncle!" Duncan screamed as he turned visible and smacked Neyla across the face with his cane. Meanwhile, Bentley started working to free Sly and Murray.

"Gah!" She yelled as she fell back from Duncan's blow. She covered where he hit, but Duncan saw red coming out of the hand.

 _Blood_

"You little brat! I'll make you pay for that!" Neyla said as she walked towards Duncan, the fresh cut on her face now exposed.

"That statement I said still stands," A now free Sly said as he stepped in front of his son, along with Murray. Neyla growled but said nothing, as she went to try and wake up her guards, giving the gang a clean break to flee.

* * *

"Sorry we didn't believe you, Duncan," Murray apologized from the front seat.

"It's fine, Uncle Murray," Duncan said. "Sorry I couldn't save mom too,"

"You were just lucky you didn't get captured yourself," Sly replied, trying to ease his son. Duncan didn't care

"It's my fault! If I hadn't said anything, mom would still be a cop!" Duncan said, tears beginning to spill. Sly brushed his tears away.

"Hey, I promise that we will save your mom and I'm sure she'll forgive you," Sly said. Duncan just gave his dad a hug.

* * *

 **Surprise! Duncan saves Sly and Murray and now chapter 4 in game doesn't happen! Also, Duncan's suspensions have come true. I loved writing Duncan's rage towards Neyla and Contessa, even having him draw blood. Will this come back to haunt him?**

 **Writing Sly's Papa Wolf moment was awesome. Seeing what happened to his own father, I thought I would make sense having him be overprotective towards Duncan when he needs to be.**

 **As for Rajan, I thought he was a fun villain and kinda terrifying, seeing as he is basically a drug lord. The boss fight was also a lot of fun, especially because you could play as THE MURRAY! Anyways, next time, we save Carmelita and take on the Contessa!**


	22. A Tangled Web

**Gamelover41592- You're about to find out how the Contessa gets exposed.**

 **Shadow Joestar- And it's only gonna get harder from here…**

 **Avatoa- No kidding….Also, yay! New reader!**

 **So much like Gwen, I'm going to call this Duncan's first major change to the** _ **Sly Cooper**_ **story. Anyways let's get going.**

* * *

After learning about the Cooper Gang's escape, the Contessa had fled back to her castle, which was giving Duncan the creeps. Despite this, the gang had still attacked her prison, looking for anything that they could use as payback. However, the only thing they could really find was another vault with a technique that was only good for throwing things longer distances.

And then help turned up in the most unlikely of ways.

* * *

 _ **Flashback**_

" _Hey, Cooper! We heard you and your crew were trying to find some dirt to blow the whistle on the Contessa," Muggshot said when he and Mz. Ruby found the gang. They had been eating at a diner, which, thankfully, didn't have a lot of people there._

" _Yeah, we raided the prison, but we still couldn't find anything," Bentley admitted._

" _Well, I was able to connect with some of the mojo in the Contessa's castle and I was able to learn that she and that new constable are both members of that no good Klaww gang," Mz. Ruby explained as Muggshot handed Bentley some papers. Everyone leaned over and saw that using her powers, Mz. Ruby had managed to get images of the Contessa with the Clockwerk eyes and Neyla talking to Arpeggio, the leader of the Klaww gang._

" _Bentley, do you think you could upload these to the internet?" Duncan asked, still eager for a little revenge against Neyla and the Contessa._

" _How about we wait on Neyla's?" Sly said. When everyone turned to face him, he just smiled. "Think about it, if we blow the whistle on the Contessa, let Neyla get the credit for locking her up and then…"_

" _She gets humiliated!" Murray finished. "Let's do it! The Murray is ready for some payback!"_

" _ **Royal**_ _payback," Sly confirmed. He then turned back to face Mz. Ruby and Muggshot. "Thanks for the help,"_

" _No sweat! After all, your boy's the one that kept me and the Mz here out of her jail in the first place," Muggshot said as he put his arm around , who blushed. Duncan was the first to connect the dots._

" _Are you guys dating?!" Duncan asked with glee. When Muggshot smiled, his smile got bigger. "Congratulations!"_

* * *

Duncan was still thinking about that as he made his way to the vault. As Sly had expected, as soon as the Contessa was exposed, Interpol practically launched a war against her, with Neyla at the forefront. Duncan wasn't sure what would funnier, when Neyla was revealed, or when her smug smile would be wiped off her face when she realized who did it.

"Gah!" Duncan said as he narrowly avoided a tank. The place being a war ground made everything a lot more dangerous. Finally, he reached the vault.

"Security around the Contessa's castle is tight, she must have something really good in here. Punch in...9-6-9," Bentley said. Duncan did what he was told and punched the code in. The vault opened and…

"Bomb rage?!" Scruffy exclaimed. **(Rage bomb?!)**

"Um, Uncle Bentley? I think this would be best for you," Duncan said over his binocucom.

* * *

 **Job 1: Know Your Enemy**

Out of fear, Sly had waited for Duncan before leaving for the re-con job and Duncan had wanted to join in.

"Okay here's the plan. First, take some recon photos around the area then make your way up to the re-education tower," Bentley explained. Duncan shuddered as he looked at the tower. It looked even more freaky then the other places in the castle, which already looked like a horror movie set.

"Looks... pleasant enough," Sly said as Duncan grabbed his free arm.

"Oh and stay clear of tanks. You know, so you don't get blown up into little sticky pieces," Bentley added.

"I like being in one piece!" Duncan complained as he let go of Sly.

"Let's just go," Sly said. The duo had the list of what they needed to find and the only real talk was Bentley giving his expositions on each item.

"The Contessa has these boats out on patrol against Neyla's army. They could be useful to hitch a ride,"

"That's the blimp the Contessa used to escape from the prison. Maybe we can use to our advantage around all these high towers,"

"The Contessa's all geared up for war. Just our luck,"

"Neyla's made a headquarters out of that old bank. It's a pretty secure location. It'll take some doing to drive her out,"

"Okay, head up to the re-education tower. I suspect that's where we'll find the Clockwerk eyes," Bentley said once they had all the pictures.

"Roger that," Sly said with enthusiasm. Duncan knew where that was coming from.

Carmelita was most likely there.

"Let's hit it!" Duncan said as they duo made their way to the tower.

* * *

"I think I get why she needed to lock the door," Duncan growled once he and Sly took in the scene in front of them. The Contessa was attempting to use the eyes to hypnotize Carmelita. As Duncan and Sly started taking pictures, it took all of their willpower not burst in and save Carmelita right then and there. The conversation between the two women wasn't doing that any favors.

"Why are you doing this?! Neyla, she set me up, I'm an honest cop!" Carmelita begged. Despite her trying to hide it, both Coopers could hear the fear in her voice.

"Of course you are. I read your psychological profile, I know that you're honest," Both Sly and Duncan were gritting their teeth.

"Then why are you doing this to me?" Carmelita asked.

"Because dear... you're honest. You see, by chasing after Sly Cooper you learned too much about the Klaww Gang and its spice operation. It was only a matter of time before you found out that I was a secret member... so when Neyla gave me the chance to put you in custody I took it," The Contessa revealed. Duncan had fire in his eyes and Sly looked ready for murder.

"Coward! You're a disgrace to Interpol! I'll make it my life's work to destroy you," Carmelita snapped as she struggled against the straps strapping her down.

"Oh, I'm afraid your life, let alone your "life's work" isn't going to last much longer. Once I integrate the Clockwerk eyes into this device your "life's work" will be whatever I tell you," The Contessa replied.

"I won't be brainwashed that easily," Carmelita bragged.

"Quite right, it won't be easy... or painless. But I will reprogram your mind and you will take the fall for me at Interpol. Now, just lay back and relax, go to your happy place and stay there forever," The Contessa said. Now, both Coopers were struggling not to murder the Contessa and keep their vomit in. The only thing that broke up the thoughts of murder was Bentley commentary on their photos.

"That old terminal should be hardwired to the systems in this tower. We need to find a way to get it online,"

"The Clockwerk eyes! They seem to be routed through that control board. Get a shot of the console so I can decipher its make,"

"That's... that's a mind shuffler. I didn't think they were real. It's made of equal parts science and black magic... indestructible to conventional weapons,"

"Interesting. Carmelita is restrained in an old Irontech 2-50. Crude, but effective," Duncan and Sly started getting enraged again.

"Those are the Contessa's elite Shadow Guard. "Tough" is too sissy a word to describe those guys,"

"Alright, head back to the safe house and we'll get a plan together," Bentley ordered. Duncan and Sly pulled themselves away. But before they left, Sly could here Duncan say something back to the captive Carmelita.

"We're coming, mom," He whispered.

* * *

 **Job 2: Ghost Capture**

Because Duncan and Sly both were ready to kill something, Bentley had sent them off together, hoping that they would balance each other out. And if that didn't work, Scruffy was with them.

"So what's the plan?" Sly asked.

"Alright guys, there's your new objective. Sneak inside and smash the coffin of the Evil Wolf Priestess," Bentley said.

"Sounds pretty harsh. Does the old girl really deserve that sort of treatment?" Sly replied.

"Weren't you listening? She was an _Evil_ Wolf Priestess. Once you smash the coffin, it'll free all the ghosts trapped in there with her,"

"Okay, I don't know where you're going with all this but freeing trapped ghosts sounds vaguely heroic," Sly replied.

"Minus freeing the evil wolf lady," Duncan pointed.

"Except her," Sly joked as he smashed the coffin. Ghosts started flying out.

"Nice work. Now head outside, and I'll fill you in on phase two," Bentley said. Duncan and Sly raced outside.

"What's so plan the?" Scruffy asked. **(So what's the plan?)**

"I've modified the imager in your binocucoms to capture ghosts," Bentley said.

"Didn't we just set these guys free? Why would we want to capture them again?" Duncan asked.

"Not to worry, it's only a short-term confinement. Gather all the ghosts then set them free down the chimney of Neyla's headquarters," Bentley explained. Duncan and Sly started grinning.

"I get you, she'll think it's a sneak attack from the Contessa," Sly said.

"Correct. If I did my math right, and I always do my math right, Neyla should respond to the assault by purchasing more firepower," Bentley said.

"Anything bad for the Contessa is good for us... and we get to really freak out Neyla," Sly noted.

"That's going to be the best part. I can't wait to see her face!" Duncan cheered as he rubbed his hands together in anticipation. Both Coopers split up, capturing all nine ghosts with ease.

"Okay Sly, you have all the ghosts. Now just make your way to Neyla's HQ and drop them down her chimney!" Bentley ordered. With wicked grins, the Coopers dropped the photos down Neyla's chimney. When she came sprinting out, Duncan snapped a photo of her terrified face. One thing he noticed was that she had a very noticeable bandage covering the spot he smacked with his cane.

"So, the Contessa wants war, eh? Perhaps it's time I purchased a little air power; a few bombers should put that old charlatan in her place," Neyla said once she calmed down.

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

 **Job 3:** **Stealing Voices**

When Duncan and Sly were in position, Bentley called.

"The Contessa plans on taking control of Neyla's army by fooling them with a prototype voice modulation device. To get the thing working she'll have to jack it into the satellite connection beneath Neyla's headquarters," He explained.

"So, I'm guessing you'd like us to steal the device and hook it up for our side... giving us control over Neyla's mercenaries," Sly realized.

"Sounds great!" Duncan said. Any chance he could take to mess with Neyla or the Contessa was one he was taking.

"You'll have to steal a few keys here and there to get access to the more secure areas of the castle," Bentley said.

"If there're pockets to be picked, I'm your man," Sly said.

"And I'm your little man!" Duncan added, causing the older men to laugh.

"Okay, first, steal a wiretap and the voice modulator, then head for the sewers beneath Neyla's HQ," Bentley ordered.

"Let's get pickpocketing!" Duncan said. He and Sly were able to get the keys from the two guards carrying them with ease.

"Of guard lots!" Scruffy panicked as Duncan and Sly started sneaking around. **(Lots of guards!)**

"Oh relax buddy," Duncan said as he and Sly had their way to the wiretap, stole it and made it out, all without the guards seeing them. "See? Told you there was nothing to worry about,"

"Still it scary was!" Scruffy hissed. **(It was still scary!)**

"Oh yeah, that wiretap is perfect!" Bentley awed. "Another set of guards are up in your binocucom. Rob them of their keys to get at the voice modulator,"

"Got it," Sly replied. Once again, the duo were able to steal the key sets with no problem.

"Nice job. The room with the voice modulator is marked in your binocucom," Bentley explained. Much like the keys, they had no problem stealing it.

"I'm Neyla and I'm an annoying backstabbing bit-" Duncan began to say once they got outside, the voice modulator changing his voice to sound like Neyla. Before Duncan could curse, however, Sly stopped in.

"Okay, first off, language and second, that was a good impression," Sly interrupted.

"The Contessa's guards have locked down the entrance to the sewers. Find the guys in charge and steal their keys," Bentley said.

"Why does the Contessa have so many keys!?" Duncan whined. Even still, it didn't take a very long.

"That's some quality thieving, guys. Now head for the runoff drains near the riverside. They should lead to the sewers," Bentley said.

"I taking a bath when we get back to the safehouse," Duncan groaned.

"Ditto," Sly agreed.

"You'll need to crawl through one of the runoff drains to get to the sewer entrance," Bentley said, causing groans yet again. Either way, both did as they were told.

"Why can't Bentley do something like this?" Duncan groaned as they crawled around the sewers, looking for the satellite. There were a bunch of guards, but those were easy to take care of.

"Isn't he Cooper a ?" Scruffy offered. **(He isn't a Cooper?)**

"He could fit into pipes," Sly replied for his son, causing laughs.

"Laugh it up, you two," Bentley said. "By the way, according to my blueprints, this sewer should take you underneath Neyla's HQ," The duo found the satellite quickly.

"Looks like we got lucky, the Contessa's men have already excavated Neyla's satellite cable. How should we proceed?" Sly asked.

"Splice in the wire tap then attach the voice modulator. I'll broadcast from the safe house to make sure it works... this is going to be so cool!" Bentley gushed.

"I wish I could say some stuff," Duncan said as he and Sly left the sewers.

" _Uhh, hello mercenary tank forces... would you mind spinning your turrets for me?_ " Bentley ordered in Neyla's voice. Sure enough, the tanks did as told. " _Gads, this is cool! I mean... you are all... really cool. Carry on_ ,"

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

Bentley could already tell that everyone(namely Duncan and Sly) was antsy, but luckily, he already had a plan.

"It's time to wage war on the castle and in the confusion pull off a heist I've named Operation: High Road. First, Murray will take down the spotlights on the main gate with the codes provided by General Clawfoot. Then, with the help of the voice modulator, I'll order Neyla's forces to attack. Sly and Duncan will then paraglide the two of us over to the Contessa's getaway blimp and we'll use it to get inside her re-education tower. The assault on the castle will undoubtedly draw the Shadow Guards from their post and if we free Inspector Fox she's sure to clear out the Contessa. With the mind shuffler exposed, I'll plant the bad mojo bomb and presto, the Clockwerk eyes are ours! So if the two of you are ready let's take our positions and get this thing started!"

"Let's do it!" Murray cheered.

"Time to get some payback!" Duncan added.

"Be fun should," Scruffy said as he rubbed his little legs together in anticipation. **(Should be fun)**

"We're coming Carmelita," Sly said a bit more subdued then the others.

* * *

 **Job 3: Operation: High Road**

Once Murray had finished with his job and Bentley had called for extra "backup", he had met up with a waiting Sly and Duncan.

"Now that you're done being a warmonger, feel like paragliding over to that blimp?" Sly joked.

"Just make sure to grab the rope hanging off that thing... I don't want to drown," Bentley said nervously. Admittedly, Duncan was a little nervous himself. He had never used his paraglider before. Either way, he was still able to make it with Sly and Bentley.

"Hey!" Two wolf guards were on board the blimp.

"Hold on pal," Sly said as he pulled out his cane.

"This could get ugly," Duncan added as he repeated his father's action. Between the two of them, the guards went down fast.

"Alright, let's head for the re-education tower," Bentley said.

* * *

"What! The mercenaries have breached the castle defenses! All of you go, defend this tower to the last man!" The Contessa ordered her shadow guards, who headed off. She turned back to Carmelita. "Don't worry my dear, I still have time to finish with your 'readjustment.'"

"Let me out of here and I'll readjust your face!" Was Carmelita's reply.

"Okay partner, looks like the Shadow Guard is out of the picture. You ready to free our violent little princess?" Sly asked Bentley.

"I thought mom was a queen to you?" Duncan asked while Sly just stammered to find a way to explain pet names to an eight old.

"Affirmative, that Irontech 2-50 is a fully integrated system; access to Carmelita's restraints has to be in this old terminal somewhere," Bentley said once he finished laughing. In a few minutes, Carmelita was freed. How she still had her shock pistol just confused everyone.

"Ah-ha! I've isolated the brain pattern... you and I are about to become the best of friends," The Contessa said, oblivious to the fact that Carmelita was now free.

"Okay, new best friend. Hands up, and I mean all of 'em," Carmelita ordered.

"My dear you really…" The Contessa began to say, only to turn around and see that Carmelita was already freed. "Shadow Guard! Shadow Guard!" She called as she raced off, Carmelita hot on her tails.

"Come back here you witch!"

"This is priceless!" Duncan said, letting out the laugh he had been holding in. "Scruffy, did you get a good picture of that?"

"Yes heck, did I!" Scruffy said as he uploaded the pictures to Duncan's binocucom. **(Heck yes, I did!)**

"Stand clear, this might have a larger blast than anticipated," Bentley said as he armed a bad mojo bomb he had created earlier. It blew up and knocked the eyes free. However, it had the side effect of making the room hard to see. Bentley started coughing.

"Uncle Bentley! You okay?" Duncan asked in concern.

"This is no place for an asthmatic... but I've located one of the Clockwerk eyes, can you find the other?" Bentley said as he picked up one of the eyes. The voice that answered was one that none of them wanted to hear.

"No worries chaps, it's safely in hand,"

"Neyla!?" Duncan and Sly exclaimed.

"Thanks for clearing out the Contessa... nothing I did could pry her away from the Clockwerk eyes. Hmm, one should be enough for the old bird. Ta-ta," Neyla said as she raced off, the other eye in hand. Duncan had already started running after her.

"Bentley! Take the eye and escape on the blimp... we're going after Neyla," Sly called back as he took off after his son and Neyla.

"Attention all bombers: focus your attack on the Contessa's blimp!" Neyla ordered once she had gotten outside.

"Heads up Bentley, you're about to come under fire. Get to the blimp's turret and stay sharp!" Sly radioed to Bentley.

"Get back here!" Duncan yelled as he continued to chase Neyla. Much to his glee, Neyla got herself trapped in a spider web, causing him to take another picture.

"You really should watch where you're going... this place is dangerous," Sly chastised her as he grabbed the eye.

"Don't you dare! That eye is _mine! It's mine!"_ Neyla demanded as she struggled in vain to free herself.

"Actually Mr. Cooper... the eye belongs to me," The Contessa said as Carmelita jumped over to Sly and Duncan.

"Mom! You're okay!" Duncan cheered as he gave his mother a quick hug. Carmelita hugged back.

"Did you _really_ think that witch could brainwash me?" Carmelita asked.

"I'm standing right here," The Contessa pointed out. Everyone turned back to her. "That eye belongs to me... and I want it back,"

"No way. You think we're crazy? Actually, on second thought don't answer that, I really don't want your 'professional opinion'," Sly replied.

"Not crazy, just stupid. You're an ignorant child playing dress-up in his father's legacy. Oh I know all about you and the Cooper Clan. And that mutant son of yours," The Contessa replied. Duncan felt his heart sink a little. No one else looked like him. Maybe that was why he was abandoned.

"Leave Duncan out of this!" Carmelita snapped as she pulled out her shock pistol. Duncan pulled out his cane, his spirit returned.

"Then you'll understand why this eye needs to be destroyed," Sly tried to reason with the Contessa.

"Short-sighted fool. I've no interest in your narrow interpretation of morality. I'm above all that, above good and evil," The Contessa bragged.

"Ego much?" Duncan snarked.

"And you think we'd give the eye to someone that's 'above morality'" Sly asked as he pulled out his own cane.

"Enough talk insects! It will be just as easy... and more fun to pry it from your cold, dead hands," The Contessa said as she prepared to fight.

"The only bug that needs to get stepped on is you!" Duncan replied. The Contessa tried to take them on, but even with her skills, it was still three to one. Even when she was able to steal the eye, she was fast to take down.

"You've got strong mind Coopers. I never would have guessed!" The Contessa said before passing out.

* * *

"...and done!" Bentley said as he uploaded the pictures of Neyla to the internet.

"Let's see how she likes being on the run," Murray laughed.

"This won't restore my career, but it makes everything worth it," Carmelita said as she sat down next to Duncan. He couldn't bring himself to face her. "Duncan, are you okay?" Duncan threw himself into his mother's stomach.

"IT'S ALL MY FAULT! If I hadn't slipped up, you would still be a cop! I'm so sorry mom!" Duncan said, tears flowing. Carmelita forced her son to look her in the eye.

"Look at me, Duncan. If this was anyone's fault, it's Neyla. I don't blame you for anything. Heck, if you hadn't saved your father and your uncle, who knows what could have happened?" Carmelita comforted her son as she brushed his tears away. Duncan just gave her another hug.

* * *

 **Finally got this done! So I really like giving Duncan and his parents cavity inducing moments, but eh. Also, can someone try to make this series a page on TV Tropes? Anyways, I LOVE the Contessa! She is easily the best female villain in the series. I could have done without chapter 4(hence why I skipped it here, only like two missions were fun) and her boss fight was kinda easily, but it was her personality that won me over. Always sounding so cool and creepy and managing to keep that up even when things weren't going her way. Despite the fight being easy, it was still fun and it kinda makes sense that she had an easy fight. She isn't a fighter, she's a manipulator. Next time, it's off to Canada to take on Jean Bison and maybe trigger something for Duncan? Who knows?**


	23. He Who Tames the Iron Horse

**Gamelover41592- Neyla went after the Contessa because she needed to keep her cover up to get the eyes and the Contessa was trying to defend herself**

 **Shadow Joestar- That's a pretty good description. Also, by any chance, have you checked out Gwen's story?**

 **Okay, so time to head for Canada to defeat Jean Bison. Also Canada was the location of the original show. Something is going to trigger in Duncan's mind and it's going to enforce a viewpoint he and one other contestant will have in the final story. Anyways let get going.**

* * *

"Duncan, you okay are?" Scruffy asked his owner as he made his way to the safe. **(Duncan, are you okay?)**. Duncan had been quiet ever since the group reach Canada to take on Jean Bison. He was basically a time relic, as he had been traveling through Canada to be apart of the 1852 gold rush and ended up frozen alive and thawed out almost 200 years later. He also happened to be the Klaww Gang's spice shipper, which everyone was convinced had more to it then just Rajan's main source of income. Carmelita had also made the decision to join the gang temporarily, at least until she could find a way to clear her name. Sly had made the offer to let himself be turned in, but Carmelita had vetoed that, much to the shock of everyone. She said that it would a last resort only. So Duncan had every right be to quiet because of all that.

But there was another reason to it.

Ever since Duncan had arrived in Canada, he had been getting faint flashbacks to what he guessed were his parents. The man he had guessed was his father did look a lot like him. But that man was also constantly screaming at him, telling him he had to do things the father's way, and that he wasn't loved. All this did was enforce Duncan's idea that Sly, Bentley, Murray, and Carmelita were his real family.

"This is gonna sound weird, but I've been getting...I don't really know what they are but I've been seeing my….biological parents. But all I see is my father screaming at me," Duncan admitted as he smashed the last few clue bottles and headed for the vault.

"You do find want parents those?" Scruffy asked. **(Do you want to find those parents?)**

"No!" Duncan said quickly. "As far as I think, mom, dad, Uncle Bentley, and Uncle Murray are the only family I care about," Suddenly, four courses of gushing and awws filled Duncan's binocucom. "Did you guys just hear all of that?"

"Yes we did and if it means anything, we love you all the same," Carmelita said.

"Well, at least now I don't need to tell you guys later," Duncan said, playfully rolling his eyes as his family laughed.

"The threre's safe!" Scruffy said as he used one of his legs to point it out. **(There's the safe!)**

"Thanks buddy," Duncan said as he jumped over to it.

"Jean Bison is in for another rude awakening the next time he checks this vault. Enter 1-2-9," Bentley explained. Duncan punched in the code and pulled out what was inside.

"A music box? What is this suppose to do? Make the guards have a dance party?" Duncan asked as he threw a music box behind him. A few guards happened to behind him and they fell asleep as the music started.

"Aw, wanted I guard a party dance," Scruffy groaned. **(Aw, I wanted a guard dance party)**

"Not gonna lie, that would have been pretty funny," Sly admitted.

* * *

 **Job 1: Spice in the sky**

"So Bentley, what's the plan?" Sly asked as he, Duncan and Carmelita watched over the trains. They had found all of Jean Bison's train roots and found out he had both Clockwerk Lungs and the stomach. How such a low tech guy got all those parts confused everyone, but it was shrugged off. However, they had also learned that he was going to deliver something called a Northern Light Battery to Arpeggio. Speaking of Arpeggio, he was headed for Paris for something that the other Klaww gang members had helped with.

"We need to break into the Iron Horse trains... but the only way in through the caboose is locked. To blow the locks off you'll need to collect the ultra-unstable denatured spice gas from those balloons floating above town," Bentley explained.

"How are we supposed to get up there to collect the spice gas?" Carmelita asked. After joining the gang, Sly had given her a spare paraglider, claiming that it was really helpful to get around and even said she could keep it once everything was back to the way it should be. It didn't have the Cooper Gang logo on it, so Carmelita said it would work. He had also showed her how to use the Cooper temperature technique so that she wouldn't freeze.

"Murray's already commandeered this ice plane. Jump on its strut and he'll fly you up to a good paragliding altitude. Oh, and strap on a special vacuum backpack, it'll automatically collect the spice gas after you've popped a balloon," Bentley explained.

"Do we get to blow something up?" Duncan asked, already excited

"Yes, you do, but in order to do so, you'll need to land directly on the train's caboose," Bentley said.

"Why directly on the caboose?" Carmelita asked, even though she already had a feeling she knew.

"Denatured spice gas is very unstable at lower altitudes. Unless you land on the caboose, you won't have time to get the gas tank to the lock before it blows up," Bentley explained.

"So you're saying we either land on the caboose... or get blown to bits?" Sly asked.

"That's correct... chemistry can be a harsh mistress," Bentley said.

"...How on earth are you guys still alive?" Carmelita asked bluntly as they made their ways over to Murray.

"Not even really sure," Sly admitted with a laugh. Carmelita and Duncan just grabbed each other. Sly went up first and Duncan had made the offer to go next, but Carmelita said she would, leaving Duncan to go last.

"You ready Duncan?" Murray asked.

"Let's go it!" Duncan replied.

"Hang on tight, we're going up," Murray said as he flew up to a good spot, before letting Duncan jump out. As soon as he opened his paraglider, he heard a loud boom. Squinting, he saw Sly jumping off one of the trains. Clearly he was done already. About a minute later, Duncan had heard another boom, it was Carmelita this time.

"That did it. You've got a full tank of gas. Target the last caboose," Bentley said. Duncan saw the last train moving through town. He was a little nervous about blowing himself to bits, but thankfully, he had timed it perfectly. He used the spice to blow the last door open.

"Boom-ka!" Scruffy said as they watched the blast after getting off the train. **(Ka-boom!)**

"Yes, you guys did it! All the Iron Horse trains are unlocked!" Bentley cheered.

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

" _Attention men, this here's Jean Bison. That was a quality job you boys did on moving the spice on them those boats. Soon enough I'll have one of them special Iron Horse trains come by and pick it all up for distribution. Stay sharp, and once this year's spice business is taken care of we'll have ourselves a hunting party! Go out into the woods and kill off some bears, eh?_ " Jean Bison said over the intercom.

"Isn't hunting the bears in this area illegal?" Duncan asked his parents. Bentley had gone to get the first Clockwerk Lung.

"I don't think Jean Bison really knows what 'animal protection' acts are," Carmelita pointed out.

"Yeah, he isn't from this time," Sly added in.

"Good point," Duncan noted.

"I got the lung!" Bentley said, snapping them out of their thoughts

"Outstanding! Chalk up one strange robot organ for us and one less Iron Horse train for Jean Bison!" Sly cheered.

* * *

 **Job 2: Theft on the rails**

"The second Iron Horse train is coming too fast. You might not have time to jump on top!" Bentley warned Sly, Duncan and Carmelita. The threesome had decided to snag the other lung together.

"Relax Bentley. There's more than one way to get on top of that caboose," Sly said as he, Duncan and Carmelita climbed onto the caboose. They all hopped inside the train.

"The other Clockwerk lung should be hooked into the engine's furnace. Sneak your way up there and grab it," Bentley ordered.

"Roger that, Uncle Bentley," Duncan said.

"Let's get going," Sly said as the family started to make their way to the front of the train. A few train cars had parts destroyed.

"You should've seen how many missile launchers were attached to these train cars. I don't mind saying that it took some real finesse on my part to deal with the defenses," Bentley bragged. He had to take out some of the air defenses in order for anyone to board the train in the first place.

" _Attention Iron Horse number 2. In case you haven't heard, some lucky varmint managed to make off with the Clockwerk lung in Iron Horse 1. All the guards on duty have been punished according to the lumberjack code. Don't let the same thing happen to you folk. You boys have done some real good work lately and I'd hate to have to put you out on disability. That's it. Keep your axes sharp,"_ Jean Bison said over the PA. As soon as he mentioned disability, Duncan cringed, Sly shuddered and Carmelita just looked sick.

"...I kinda feel bad for these guys," Duncan said as he knocked a guard out with a stealth slam.

"No kidding," Sly agreed. Despite all the guards, lasers, and other obstacles, the group was able to make it to the second lung.

"Fantastic! We're raking in the Clockwerk parts left and right!" Bentley cheered.

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

Okay guys, this is it. Time to break into Iron Horse number 3 and carry away the Clockwerk stomach. Now, the train's moving too fast to jump onto here in town, so we'll have to catch up with it on Murray's new hand car. Once we're in position, Sly will hop on board and make his way to the engine. While he travels through the interior, I'll provide air support with my RC chopper. I've planned this as a textbook train robbery. If we all do our jobs right, what could possibly go wrong?" Bentley said, only for Duncan cover his mouth with his hands. Bentley then noticed that Murray, Sly and Carmelita all had horrified looks on their faces.

"What?" He asked, his voice muffled from Duncan's hand.

"You _never_ say 'what could possibly go wrong'! Now something is bound to go wrong!" Duncan protested.

"On please, you really believe the oldest myth in the books? You are even more superstitious then I thought," Bentley said as he rolled his eyes.

* * *

 **Job 3: Operation "Choo-Choo"**

"And something just went wrong," Duncan snarked at Bentley. They had boarded the final train, using a handcar that Murray had stolen. Sly, Duncan and Carmelita were beginning to make their way to it when surprise surprise, Neyla had turned up in a small aircraft.

"Oi, Cooper! Thought I might find you here. Just can't stay away from these Clockwerk parts can you?" Neyla said.

"Better then letting you take them," Sly fired back.

"Seems like you're still mad for my double crossing, but I suppose you got your payback," Neyla replied.

"You aren't worthy of being an Interpol officer," Carmelita said, causing Neyla to take another potshot at them.

"What's the problem Poodles? Afraid you can't take me on? Have to call up your little friends for help?" Neyla taunted.

"Isn't that racist?" Duncan asked Carmelita, who nodded.

"Come in 'little friends,' Neyla's got me pinned down... any chance of air support?" Sly asked Bentley.

"I've already launched the RC chopper- she won't know what hit her!" Bentley replied. Sure enough, the little chopper started firing at Neyla.

"Come on Cooper... let's play…" Neyla said, only for the shots to start hitting her. "What in blazes!? Alright little RC friend, this should be a quick bit of destruction,"

"Come on, Bentley," Duncan mumbled. He loved watching Neyla get humiliated. Thankfully, the chopper won the shooting match.

"You rummy Blighter! This is a... wuh? Oh no. _Oh no!"_ Neyla panicked as she pulled away.

"That was some fancy flying 'little friend,'" Sly thanked Bentley as he, Duncan and Carmelita climbed onto the train car.

"Whatever you say 'Poodle.'" Bentley replied.

"Come on, dad! Before she gets back!" Duncan rushed his father as he climbed after his mother to the top of the train car.

"Hey Sly, get to that Clockwerk stomach fast. This old hand car is starting to fall apart!" Murray added, causing Sly to speed himself up. Thankfully, they were able to reach the engine room quickly.

"Looks like Jean Bison's wised up and bolted the stomach down. We'll have to crack the engine block to get it free," Sly noted.

"Then that's just what we'll do. A well placed bomb down the train's smoke stack will knock it loose. Just make sure to take some cover," Bentley replied.

"Not so fast chum. The Clockwerk part is mine. They will all be mine," Neyla said as she blocked the RC chopper.

"Can she just _go away_!?" Duncan groaned. Much like last time however, she went down again.

"You won't stop me! Not the Cooper Gang, not Interpol, not anyone!" Neyla vowed.

"Stand clear guys, this might be messy!" Bentley warned as he dropped the bomb down. Sure enough, it blew the stomach free. "You guys okay?"

"We've got an upset stomach on my hands but other than that- we feel great!" Sly announced as Carmelita grabbed the stomach.

* * *

 **So a personal headcanon I have for Duncan is that his father was abusive(that moment in his message from home tape didn't help. "Do we even love you?" Wow!) and that drove him to his life of crime, feeling that the justice system failed him. He hasn't realized it yet, but his devotion to his family and his fear of losing them stems from not wanting to go back to a bad family life. Anyways, next one will be short but there will be a few big moments and set up the final story.**


	24. Menace from the North, Eh!

**Shadow Joestar- Oh trust me, things are about to** _ **really**_ **get worse**

 **Gamelover41592- She was actually a lot of fun to write on the Cooper Gang's side**

 **Guest- Yep, Sammy is the other contestant who is subconsciously trying to avoid a bad family life**

 **So this chapter will be a little different. All I will say is that the end game changes majorly….and the gang is going to hate Neyla even more.**

* * *

"Stinks here," Duncan groaned he made his way across a river at Jean Bison's new hideout, a saw mill. Something still wasn't right. Random acts of violence had been popping up all over the country and the northern lights had been completely out of whack. Some nights they would be just as bright, but others they wouldn't even be there. Bentley had a feeling that Jean Bison and Arpeggio were behind it and no one was willing to disagree with him. Jean Bison also had the Clockwerk Talons.

"Fish like!" Scruffy agreed. **(Like fish!)**

"Oh, there it is," Duncan said as he spotted the vault and made his over to it.

"If I did my math right, and I ALWAYS do my math right, then the combination has got to be 5-8-3," Bentley said. Sure enough, when Duncan put the code in, the vault opened.

"A lightning spin?" Duncan asked.

"Sure is, eh!" A voice from behind him said. Duncan slowly turned around to find Jean Bison staring him down. "Now what is a little runt like you doing out here?"

"Hang on, Duncan! Sly's already on his way over!" Bentley said. Duncan, however, wasn't going to back down.

"Trying to steal something from you," Duncan answered honestly.

"I appreciate the honesty, lad. Kinda reminds me of me when I was your age," Jean Bison said with a laugh. "Sit down, and maybe you can convince me why I shouldn't be using them Clockwerk parts,"

"So you aren't going to hurt him?" Sly asked as he came up from behind.

"Naw. I may be more willing ta whale on most, but I don't hurt youngsters," Jean Bison explained. "Now, why is using those Clockwerk parts so bad?"

"Well, to start, what you were transporting with those trains is highly illegal," Sly explained.

"Yeah, I kinda figured that out not long after what happened with Rajan," Jean Bison explained. "I woulda stopped but I ain't from around here, keep that in mind. I had to do what I could. Also I just love trains. Reason I wanted to strike it rich was to get enough to buy my own locomotives,"

"Also, the parts were from an ancient evil bird called Clockwerk and-" Duncan began to add, only for Bison to cut him off.

"Arpeggio told me about that and I think it's best for all that the bird _stays_ in pieces," Jean said with a shudder.

"We been collecting them to destroy them," Sly said.

"Also, what's with the Northern Lights?" Duncan asked. "Are you trying to get rid if them?" Jean laughed.

"Naw! I love them lights too much. Wouldn't dream of gettin' rid of 'em. But Arpeggio is claimin' he needs 'em for something," Jean said.

"Yeah, for fuel!" Sly pointed out. Jean Bison suddenly got really mad.

"Hang on just a darn minute! Are you two sayin' that all this time, I coulda been using the lights to fuel my trains?" Bison asked. When the Coopers nodded, he smashed the vault. "That lousy pigeon LIED TO ME!"

"So, would you be willing to help us out with getting back at him?" Sly asked with a mischievous grin.

* * *

Things seemed to be going great to Duncan. After chatting with Jean, he was willing to hand over the Clockwerk Talons with no problem and was even willing to empty out the Northern Light battery for the gang to hide in. He had even offered to turn himself in, but much to the gang's shock, Carmelita had so that he could walk as long as he stopped with the spice trade and destroying the environment. Speaking of Carmelita, she also had go news. After Neyla was exposed, the chief realized that she was most likely lying about Carmelita as well and offered her her job back along with a promotion. He had also revealed that even if she was working with Sly, he didn't really care because Sly went after worst criminals then him and often lead the officers straight to them, even ones they hadn't found for themselves.

But fate can be cruel.

After wrapping things up with Bison, Duncan and Sly had returned to the hideout to find Murray, Bentley and Carmelita staring down Neyla.

"What do you want, witch?" Carmelita asked angrily. The gang looked at her in concern. Despite knowing that she had a bad temper, the level of anger was really high for her.

"I'll be needing the Clockwerk parts. Unlike Bison, Arpeggio and I think the bird would be better whole," Neyla said.

"You're sick, you know that?" Carmelita asked. Duncan glanced at his mother. Her breathing had gotten heavy.

But that glance was all Neyla needed.

It happened so fast it took Duncan a few moments to register what had happened. When his head stopped spinning, he was on the ground. There was a stabbing pain in the left side of his face around his left eye. He took a glance at his reflection in the water and saw _red_.

And four scratch marks going over his eye. She had scratched right through his mask.

"Call that payback for India," Neyla said with utter coldness as she moved her hood to show a scar of her own.

"I'LL KILL YOU FOR HURTING HIM!" Carmelita screamed in a rage. Suddenly, she collapsed, clutching her heart. "I..I,"

"Carmelita!" Sly exclaimed as he helped Duncan to his feet before looking over at Carmelita.

"What happened?!" Bentley asked as he tried to stop Duncan's bleeding.

"Mom!" Duncan cried. Tears were mixing with his blood.

"Spice burnout. The Contessa had pumped some into her. It makes it easier to brainwash people. And she will die from it," Neyla explained before pulling out an IV bag. "Unless she gets some of this in her bloodstream,"

"So that's the plan? Injure Duncan and let Carmelita get angry so you can blackmail us?!" Sly demanded.

"Lady, you are _pure evil_ ," Murray hissed. It was taking all of his self control not to snap Neyla in half.

"I'm good, right?" Neyla asked. Finally, Sly stood up.

"Don't….don't do it Sly!" Carmelita begged.

"Take the parts, but give us the bag first," Sly replied.

"Why, you don't trust me?" Neyla asked. Everyone gave her deadpan looks, even Duncan and Carmelita. "Fair point," She tossed the bag to Sly. "Pleasure doing business with you,"

* * *

The thoughts of that monster filled everyone's thoughts as they crammed into the battery. It was a quiet ride to the blimp. Duncan was seated in between Carmelita, who was cured, and Sly. His cuts had stopped bleeding but everyone knew it was going to leave scars. Scruffy had moved onto his owner's shoulder and would offer comfort if he could, but beyond a few words, he was silent. Bentley was quiet with the exception of his furious typing. He was clearly trying to come up with some kind of plan. Murray stared back at the van. Despite promises from Jean Bison to keep it safe, the van was his pride and joy, so it was clear it was painful to him to give it up. Even with everyone put through the wringer, no one was giving up.

Because it was time to make Neyla pay!

* * *

 **Wow! I really didn't think I could write something like the scene with everyone confronting Neyla. But yeah, she gives Duncan a series of scars and blackmails everyone with Carmelita's life. But moving on to Jean Bison, I also wrote the chapter like how it should have gone because I love his boss fight so much. It has a very** _ **Looney-Tunes**_ **vibe to it and it's one of two boss fights in the series were you play as Bentley. I also really liked his chapters. I do agree with gang though, how did he get** _ **four**_ **parts? Next time, it's off to defeat Neyla and Arpeggio.**


	25. Anatomy for Disaster

**Shadow Joestar- Oh they are going to bring them down**

 **Gamelover41592- It's fine and glad to know you like the changes**

 **So it's time for the final chapter and oh boy, this is going to be doozy. Strap in for a bumpy ride!**

* * *

Before the gang finally reached the blimp, they had made sure to study up on the Klaww Gang's leader, Arpeggio. He was a brilliant and bright young student at a prestigious boarding school. However, he was never able to keep up with the other boys physically. Instead of just building himself a pair of wings to fly like he wanted, he instead formed the Klaww Gang and masterminded where all the Clockwerk parts when for a big criminal scheme. And now he had all of them. In spite of all the confusion, it was clear to all the gang's members that they couldn't let him rebuild Clockwerk.

* * *

"That Arpeggio really knew his encryption algorithms. As it stands I'm only 86.5 percent convinced the code to the vault is 7-2-5," Bentley said as Duncan knelt down at the vault to open it. It was a little hard to see the numbers from the bandages covering his scars. Mom said that he could take them off when they took him to see a real doctor. This also meant he had to pull his cap down further because he wasn't wearing his mask.

"What's this?" Duncan asked as he looked over the blueprints.

"Power shadow?" Scruffy asked. **(Shadow Power?)**

"Impossible! According to those blueprints, you can trap any guard you hit in a shadowy mist, blinding them!" Bentley marveled. Duncan decided to test that out. He hit an unsuspecting guard and sure enough, shadows formed around his eyes. He started stumbling around blind. Duncan started laughing only stopping when his scars started hurting again.

"It does hurt still?" Scruffy asked. **(Does it still hurt?)**

"A little, but I'll be fine," Duncan replied. He was a fighter and there was no way he was going to let Neyla win.

* * *

 **Job 1: Blimp HQ Recon**

"My instruments have picked up large magnetic fields radiating from inside that blimp. If Arpeggio's already started re-assembling Clockwerk, that's where you'll find him," Bentley explained.

"Sounds good, we're on my way," Sly said as he and Duncan started making their way over.

"Don't waste any time here, get to the blimp and take some recon photos. To build a plan, we need to know how close they are to reviving Clockwerk," Bentley explained.

"Relax Uncle Bentley. We've got it under control," Duncan replied cockily.

* * *

Inside the blimp, Duncan and Sly were in for a nasty shock. Clockwerk was nearly rebuilt! As soon as he saw that, Scruffy rushed back under Duncan's cap and Duncan could feel the little spider near the back of his head.

"I... I had no idea they could re-assemble Clockwerk so fast!" Bentley panicked.

"Calm down Bentley…..he might be in one piece but he doesn't appear to be, you know, "alive." Let's stick to the format here, how about some recon photos?" Sly said, although it was clear he was also trying to calm himself down.

"Agreed, what should we take a picture of?" Duncan asked as he pulled out his binocucom, clearly also trying to keep himself calm.

"You're right, we need to be informed to create a plan of action. Try to get a shot of Clockwerk's head, a mech egg and one of those spinning magnetic inducers, they seem important to the process. But stay away from the guards. If you get detected we won't have time for a second chance," Bentley explained. Like any normal recon mission, Sly and Duncan would take pictures and Bentley would give commentary.

"These magnetic inducers seem to be holding the Clockwerk parts together,"

"Clockwerk appears completely inanimate. We might still have a chance," That made everyone sigh in relief.

"I'm sensing radioactivity from inside those mech eggs. I wouldn't get too close,"

"Please tell me that _Clockwerk_ didn't lay those!" Duncan begged. Sly started gagging.

"I'm going to need brain bleach later," Bentley groaned. "Hang on, I'm detecting voices from the front of the blimp. I think it's Arpeggio and Neyla!"

"You want pictures?" Duncan asked.

"Yes, and hurry before they come out!" Bentley said. Once they were in a good spot, they duo took the last two pictures.

"There he **(Arpeggio)** is. The mastermind behind this blimp and the source of all our problems," Duncan snickered a little and how not threatening Arpeggio looked. He was wearing all fancy clothes, smaller then a toddler and riding in what Duncan could only call a mobile birdcage.

"Neyla must have been working with him in order to gain more power for herself. She probably is going to backstab him too!"

Sly had heard and since enough at this point. "Look Bentley, I know it's not your style, but we need a quick plan of attack. Try to think of a way, anyway to stop Clockwerk from getting reassembled,"

"Yeah, I don't like what I think they have planned," Duncan shuddered.

"Well... those magnetic inducers seem to be holding the parts together. If you reversed their polarity it should pull Clockwerk apart. Unfortunately, the inducer speed control station is locked down tight. Pickpocket keys from the four patrolling guards to get at it. Then... you'll need to manually reverse the polarity of each inducer deck at the top of their rotation," Bentley said quickly.

"Consider it done," Both Coopers said at the same time. Naturally, it didn't take very long for the duo to have all four keys safely pickpocketed.

"Now get to the speed control station to slow down the spinning inducers," Bentley said.

"Got it," Sly said as this was quickly finished.

"Now that the inducer decks are spinning slower, get up there and reverse the polarity of each deck!" Bentley said.

"Great and then we can all go home," Duncan said. However after reversing the polarity, something went _horribly wrong_.

Clockwerk was reassembled completely!

"Merde," Was all Duncan, Sly, Scruffy, Bentley, Carmelita and Murray **(The last two were listening back at the hideout)** could say. **(Does anyone know what they just said?)** As if that wasn't bad enough, the noise brought Neyla and Arpeggio out.

"What's all this then? The magnets have been reversed?! But? By Jove, it seems to have locked the Clockwerk parts into place! Excellent!" Arpeggio cheered. Sly and Duncan jumped down the polarity control panel.

"Sly Cooper!? Of course this'd be your doing? I thought you would have just given up," Neyla said as smugly as she could.

"If anything, you made us want to take you down more," Sly replied.

"Ah, Mr. Cooper. No doubt you believed a reversal would pull the old bird apart, eh? But it seems to have the opposite effect. I'm truly grateful... when fully powered up I'll join myself to its circuits and be born anew," Arpeggio said, regaining everyone's attention.

"All this... because you can't fly," Sly said.

"You're pathetic," Duncan said as he blew a raspberry at Arpeggio.

"Immortality! Immortality is what I seek. The other Klaww Gang members were much too short-sighted. They were happy using the Clockwerk parts to drive their various trivial schemes. But not me! No, I saw them for what they truly were- the keys to life eternal!" Arpeggio revealed.

"So...you _wanted_ us to steal the parts from the other Klaww Gang members?" Sly asked.

"You make it sound easy Cooper. I had to carry your pathetic gang through that first set of heists. I was overjoyed when Arpeggio let me toss you in jail, I could finally go after the parts by myself. But then your little son had to screw up everything!" Neyla explained, glaring at Duncan. Sly stepped in front of his son with a glare back.

"Ah! But acquiring all the parts was only half the equation. Think Cooper... what kept Clockwerk alive for thousands of years?" Arpeggio asked. Duncan could tell that he was getting ignored with being shoved to the side.

"Hate?" Duncan offered.

"He was fueled by his hatred for my family," Sly clarified.

"Splendid, that's right! Hatred! Putting his gears and wires together was child's play compared with accumulating that much hatred," Arpeggio said.

"You can't make people hate," Sly said.

"Oh my poor naive boy... my meticulous mind has found a way. As your fox love interest will attest, spice consumption makes you both angry _and_ susceptible to hypnosis. The Contessa, hypnotist extraordinaire, devised a way to command people through the use of flashing lights. I've created this blimp to be a massive transmitter of those precise light frequencies. The only problem I faced was finding a suitable source of light waves," Arpeggio revealed. Duncan and Sly both began to connect the dots.

"The Northern Lights! You've been collecting Northern Light Energy so you could brainwash everyone under the blimp!" Duncan realized.

"Ahh, hypnotize those who'd eaten food covered in illegal spice. Thank goodness for Dimitri, through his nightclub he got the whole city to consume the spice," Arpeggio revealed. Internally, Duncan started to freak out. Hunter had mentioned having to eat some of the leftovers from the nightclub!

"You're going to Paris to unleash a hypnotic light show of hate... That's outlandishly cruel," Sly said as he and Duncan pulled their canes out.

"Cruel, perhaps, but necessary to give Clockwerk his spark of immortality! Ah... well, my new body awaits me. Be a dear, Neyla and keep him covered. Ta-ta!" Arpeggio said as he started to move towards Clockwerk. Much to Arpeggio's shock, Neyla knocked the cage over.

"Stupid Arpeggio. I double crossed the Cooper Gang, Interpol, and Carmelita... what made you think I wouldn't do the same to you?" Neyla pointed out as she jumped into Clockwerk's body. It started to move around.

"This is preposterous. You're my protege, not the next candidate for my immortality. I demand you exit the Clockwerk frame or... _or!_ " Arpeggio threatened, only for Neyla to slam the beak down, crushing Arpeggio. His monocle rolled out and Duncan picked it up and slipped it into

his pocket

"Behold, Clock-la is born!" Neyla announced as she flew off.

"Why am I not surprised?" Duncan deadpanned.

"Did how not Arpeggio that see coming?" Scruffy asked. **(How did Arpeggio not see that coming?)**

* * *

Back in the empty battery/hideout, Bentley had a slideshow prepared.

"As we all know, things are looking grim. Neyla has joined herself to the Clockwerk frame and the union has produced Clock-la. She's out and free to terrorize the world. This blimp is still in motion to Paris. I can only assume Arpeggio's autopilot will activate the hate hypnosis light show. If that happens, there'll be no stopping Clock-la. She'll be immortal. But we still have a chance. In her new form, she'll need to draw a lot of energy from this blimp's engines to stay strong. If we can disable the engines, that should be enough to weaken her to a state in which we can attack. Getting at these engines will require all six of us to work together in perfect harmony. We've pulled off some tough jobs in the past, but they were just a warm up job for what we'll be going through tonight," Bentley explained.

"The Murray is ready to destroy that monster!" Murray said as he flexed.

"We don't need another Clockwerk," Sly said grimly.

"You said it dad," Duncan told his father.

"Will me my destroy master old!" Scruffy said. **(Me(I) will destroy my old master)**

"Seeing as I've gone this far with you guys, I am going to finish this with you," Carmelita said.

"Seeing as we all agree, it's time to move!" Bentley said as he put his hand in the middle. Following that was Sly, Duncan, Carmelita, Murray(who slammed his hand down) and finally Scruffy.

* * *

 **Job 1: Duncan/Murray Tag Team**

After Sly had blown open the engine room with some help from Carmelita(He couldn't get out of the TNT barrel he was without making it blow up, so she had offered to protect him while he made the run), it was time from Duncan and Murray to destroy one of them.

"Uncle Murray, I think I'm going to need some help getting into the engine place,"

"Happy to help, little buddy," Murray said.

"Uncle Bentley tells me that the door to the first engine is locked down by wall mounted power stations located all over the blimp. I'll need you to destroy all of the power stations and then open the door by hand," Duncan said.

"No sweat, Duncan," Murray said. With that, Duncan headed for the engine room while Murray went looked for the power stations. It didn't take him very long.

"Awesome work, Uncle Murray! Now help me get inside," Duncan congratulated his uncle. Murray was back quickly and lifted up the door for Duncan.

"Your turn, little buddy," Murray said as Duncan slipped inside. Once inside, Scruffy poked his head out.

"It is turn my yet?" Scruffy asked. **(Is it my turn yet?)**

"Yes it is," Duncan said. Scruffy crawled off of Duncan and started across. There were lasers, but he was too small for them to touch him. He was also able to scale the walls with no problem, letting him reach and hack the panel with ease.

"Nice work, bud!" Duncan said as he scooped his pet up. He would have done it himself, but he didn't fully trust his sight right now. Beside Scruffy had been begging to a job for a while now.

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

 **Job 2: Mega Jump-Job**

"What the heck is this thing?" Duncan asked as he readjusted what he could only call a metal backpack, which was thankfully light. Behind him, Carmelita and Sly were wearing similar ones.

"Thanks to Carmelita, we've hit a stroke of good luck! Interpol is going to send us a helicopter in order to shoot Clock-La down. However, they can't lock on to the blimp with the copter's Autopilot. In order to send a signal out, I'll need you three to get on top of four _very_ tall towers and place beacons, they're too big to climb and too tall to jump up normally," Bentley explained.

"What's this all got to do with this thing you've got us wearing?" Sly asked.

"It's an experimental Mega-Jump pack. After charging for a few seconds, you'll perform a huge jump... so be careful," Bentley explained.

"THIS IS AWESOME!" Duncan screamed as he launched himself in the air. When he landed a few seconds later, Scruffy was clinging to his head.

"Not fun that's!" Scruffy whined. **(That's not fun!)**

"Can I keep this after we finish this?" Duncan asked, causing Scruffy to whimper.

"Go nuts," Bentley said.

"Only if you promise to be careful!" Carmelita said quickly, reminding Duncan who his parents were.

"Fine!" Duncan replied grumpily. Between the three of them, it took about three minutes to place all the beacons.

"Aha, it looks like they have picked up on our signal. The helicopter is now headed on an intercept course directly for us," Bentley announced.

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

"Let's do this!" Duncan cheered as he and Sly hopped into gunner seats on the helicopter while Carmelita began to fly it. It was time to take down Clock-La.

* * *

 **Job 3: Showdown with Clock-La**

"There she is!" Carmelita called from the cockpit. Duncan and Sly instantly began shooting out her. However, Clock-La was quick to notice and began firing back, but either Carmelita would dodge, or Duncan or Sly would shoot the missiles down. Finally, Clock-La went down, but the gang couldn't cheer yet.

"Sly! Sly! We've got a serious problem here. Clock-la is looking mighty upset and I think she's going to take it out on us," Bentley said as Clock-La swooped down and grabbed the battery, with both Bentley and Murray still inside.

"I'm going after them! Give my some air support!" Sly ordered as he jumped out of the helicopter and used the paraglider to go after Clock-La.

"Mom! Follow him!" Duncan begged as he tried to follow his father, but lost him in the clouds.

"There he is!" Carmelita said as she pointed to Sly landing on Clock-La's back. She moved closer, letting Duncan jump onto Clock-La

"You want a piece of me? Don't worry, there's plenty to go around," Neyla bragged as she turned to face them.

"You might have a new body Neyla... but you're still the same low-down backstabbing coward we've beaten time and time again... this won't be any different," Sly said as he and Duncan pulled out their canes.

"And we also were the ones who defeated Clockwerk, so you don't stand a chance," Duncan added.

"Be brave while you can Coopers. I might not have the immortality born of pure hate but I feel something... some power growing within me," Neyla told them. All this did was make Duncan and Sly smack her even more with their canes. Finally, they downed her, with the Clockwerk frame crashing to ground.

"We... we did it!" Duncan cheered as he hugged Sly. When Carmelita landed the helicopter, she was quickly added in.

"Die insects, die! My hate will smash you!" Clock-La yelled out as she activate a laser defense grid.

"Watch out! That thing's still kicking" Sly warned everyone.

"Clock-La mentioned something about a hate chip... it sounded like the source of her power," Bentley theorized.

"If we remove it, she might stop attacking," Carmelita realized.

"They let's do a little open head surgery! I'll pry open the beak so that Bentley can go to town with his bombs," Murray said as everyone started to make their way towards the head. Once Murray got it opened, they were greeting with what they could only guess was Neyla's spirit.

"I hate you Cooper Gang! I will find you in your sleep and I will destroy you. You'll never know a moment's peace for the rest of your short miserable lives. The Clock-La will know revenge... I am revenge... I am the Alpha and the Omega. Clock-La!" Neyla bragged. "I still have my hate chip! You will not defeat me... _ever!_ "

"We beg to differ," Bentley said as he held up the hate chip. Suddenly, the beak slammed down, crushing Bentley!

"BENTLEY/UNCLE BENTLEY!" Everyone else screamed.

"Murray, get the beak open!" Sly ordered. Murray quickly pulled it off.

"Pick me up... I can't walk!" Bentley weakly asked. Murray did so without hesitation. Duncan looked at the Clockwerk parts. No matter what, they still looked as new as ever. The Hate Chip slipped out of Bentley's grip. With an enraged scream, Duncan slammed his cane down on to it several times, only stopping when it was in tiny pieces. With the hate chip destroyed, the parts aged before the gang's eyes. Suddenly, they heard sirens.

"Get out of here!" Carmelita ordered. The rest of the gang listened. Despite the fact the chief felt that the gang wasn't so bad, other cops may not now that. As they made their trek over to a nearby hospital, Duncan looked at the ground. At the start of the heist, Duncan thought that finally ending Clockwerk would be a triumphant moment.

But instead, it was bittersweet.

* * *

 **And game two is finished! This was my second favorite game in the series, with only a few jobs really bugging me and not being able to replay the missions. Anyways, onto my thoughts on the villains.**

 **-Arpeggio was robbed! I really wish this guy had more screen time. He had an interesting backstory and personality, a** _ **really**_ **good plan, and his level(minus Charged TNT Run and the Boss Fight) were a lot of fun. Plus, who knows? Maybe he did survive…**

 **-Neyla is probably one of the most controversial characters in the series. You either love her or you utterly hate her. Me? I'm in the love to hate category. She was such a skilled manipulator that it was actually kinda fun watching her backstab her way to the top. I will say this, I kinda wanted a proper boss fight with her and NOT the god-awful Clock-La fight. Anyways, next few chapters will kinda just be filler before we get to Sly 3. See ya!**


	26. Recovery

**Foxchick1- Oh I knew what it meant**

 **Gamelover41592- He's already had it hard and it's only gonna get worse from there**

 **Shadow Joestar- They all took it pretty hard**

 **So before moving to the next game, I decided to just do a few filler chapters. Anyways, let's begin!**

* * *

Recovering was tough on everyone. Duncan was told he got _very_ lucky when Neyla scratched him. If she had gotten him head on instead of when he turned his head, he would have lost an eye. While everyone did admit the scars looked pretty cool, all most of them could see was the mark of a hated enemy. What didn't help was the fact that the scar poked out from behind his thief mask.

Bentley was told that he would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Clock-La(or as the gang had put it, a freak accident) had destroyed his lower spine and leg muscles. Bentley didn't fully seem to mind, it was clear that everyone had that sense of fear of what else Clock-La could do from beyond the grave.

For the three members who had gotten out unharmed, they all had some recovering of their own to do. Sly and Carmelita were still dealing with the aftermath of their son being brutally injured. Despite this, they mostly still let him do his own thing, provided he call them once he left and reached where he was going.

Murray took it the worst. He blamed himself for not being able to save Duncan or Bentley. Despite attempts to assure him that the whole mess wasn't his fault, Murray had left the gang for the time being. He mentioned that he was leaving to find his "spiritual center". Duncan had no idea what that meant, but he didn't fully care. All he cared about was that one of his uncles was leaving.

* * *

"You have been grumpy since the mission with that Clock lady, Duncan. What's bugging ya?" Buck asked one morning over breakfast.

"Buck, we have been over this five times already! My uncle left, I nearly got my eye scratched out, and my other uncle is stuck in a wheelchair," Duncan groaned.

"So what?" Hunter snapped. "You have been moping like a depressed sap all week! You know that? My dad used to tell me whenever he beat me, I should hope it would leave a scar, because they were proof that something should have killed you, but it didn't!"

"A-also, y-y-you promised y-y-you take u-u-us on a h-heist," Maverick added. He mentioned getting a speech teacher while the gang was way and it seemed to be helping a bit. The nervousness still had yet to go away. Duncan felt himself slowly start to crack.

"Did your dad really tell you that?" Duncan asked Hunter, who flinched.

"What's it mean to you?" The wolf asked, still having issues with bringing up his past.

"That's….actually not half bad advice," Duncan said. "Not in the context it was in!" He hastily added in. This got the four boys to laugh.

"What are we laughing about?" Buck asked, much to the annoyance of his friends, who also facepalmed.

"Remind me again why we put up with him?" Hunter whispered to Maverick.

"I d-d-don't k-k-know," Maverick admitted, somehow sounding deadpan despite his stuttering.

"Hey, so I haven't found a target for us to steal from yet, but if you guys want, we can go hit up the arcade and then grab some ice cream?" Duncan offered.

The answer was unanimous.

* * *

"Why is this game so hard!?" Duncan whined as he handed his mallet off to Hunter. They were playing a game where you had to hit a button with a mallet, but if you hit too hard, the meter counting would go back down! Duncan was grateful he had his special card for winning that laser hallway game(which had discontinued the idea of giving out the card), otherwise he knew he would have blown all his money on this one game.

"God damnit!" Hunter cursed as he threw the mallet down.

"H-h-how a-about we go p-p-play s-s-something else b-before H-Hunter kills s-s-someone?" Maverick offered.

"Good idea," Duncan said.

* * *

"So, what are you guys gonna get with all of those?" Duncan asked. Between the four of them, the boys had an insane amount of tickets from the games.

"That!" All three said at the same time as they pointed to something. Duncan turned around.

And saw a set of skateboards.

Each one looked to be custom made for one of the boys. One was black and had the picture of a skull and crossbones on it. The second was also black but had a fierce wolf on it. The third was a tan color with what looked like computer coding on it. The fourth was just all tye-dye. Either way, it was a choice that all four boys were happy with.

* * *

"And Buck wipes out, why I am not surprised?" Hunter deadpanned as Buck somehow fell off this board _while standing still_.

"I'm okay!" The weasel insisted as he stood up. Thankfully all four kids were wearing helmets and safety equipment, so Buck wasn't hurt.

"I swear man, you are going to die before you hit thirty!" Hunter said with a facepalm. Even then, all four boys laughed.

And Duncan was happier then he had been in a week.

* * *

 **I said this would be a short one. Either way, here's Duncan fooling around with his three best friends. Next chapter should be out tomorrow.**


	27. First Heist

**Gamelover41592- He certainly has**

 **Shadow Joestar- You're about to find out.**

 **Okay, so time for more off screen age ups! Here all the boys ages in order from oldest to youngest**

 **Duncan- 13**

 **Hunter- 12**

 **Maverick- 12(Hunter's birthday is first)**

 **Buck- 10**

 **Also those will be the ages for Sly 3(It's been 4 years since game two)...when we get there. Anyways, let's begin.**

* * *

"See? I told you guys I would find us a good heist spot!" Duncan protested. Despite it having taken a _while_ for him to find someone local for him and his friends to steal from, Duncan did make good on his promise.

The man's name was Thompson and that was the only name he ever gave. The man ran a child enslavement ring that traveled to the the underground on almost every city. And tonight, he was hitting up Paris, giving the boys a chance to shut it down.

But that was the problem.

Sly was visiting someone from his old gang, along with Bentley, so they couldn't counted on for help. Carmelita was most likely on the case as well, and if the boys did the work, then she could make a clean arrest.

"So what's the plan?" Hunter asked as he pounded his fist into his other hands.

"Okay...listen _very_ closely,"

* * *

Thompson smiled as his men lead the children into cages. He didn't care where they ended up, prostitution, servants to some other gangster, in actual homes, slaves, all that matters was how much money they made him. And everyone paid. Thompson was intimidating and he knew it. He was a lion, always dressed in a sharp suit. He stood at a respectable seven feet too and everyone was scared of him.

"You are smiling, sir. What pleases you?" His second in command, a crow asked.

"This is special as this building is where not only my finest auction will take place, but where I stash all of the money I get from this...business, " Thompson revealed with a chuckle.

"But are you worried about police? After all, you are a _very_ wanted man," The crow said.

"I think I could get out pretty easily," Thompson said as he held up a wad of money.

* * *

"Are you ready, Maverick?" Duncan said to his friend over the binocucom.

" _NO! I'm terrified!_ " Was what Maverick wanted to say. They were going after one of the most threatening and most wanted on the planet as a first heist. But Maverick pushed the terror down. He had wanted to do this since they first met Duncan.

"Y-yes," Maverick said nervously. He was sitting on top of a nearby building, a remote for a drone in hand. He had been rebuilding it mostly out of boredom but Bentley didn't really care. He had his RC chopper anyways. With smooth movements, Maverick moved the drone inside the building. He then activate a cloaking device, causing the drone to turn invisible(he had studied the Cooper invisibility technique to get an idea of how to make that work). Maverick's part of the job was to turn make all of the camera's have a still image, so that Thompson wouldn't see Duncan, Hunter or Buck. He had to be careful. Despite most of the guards being with the kids, there were still a few that would move through the hallways. Waiting for every camera to have nothing but an empty hallway on it, Maverick froze each camera. Once he was done, he radioed.

"I'm f-f-finished," Maverick said as he flew off for the second part of the mission.

* * *

"Copy that," Hunter said as he slunk around. With the camera's not working, it let the wolf walk around with ease. Even still, he made sure to be careful. Despite being quite a fighter, Hunter knew that he couldn't take on a bunch of armed guards. Dodging the few guards that were in the hallways but crawling under tables. Hunter finally found what he was looking for.

The room with the children.

It took every ounce of Hunter's self control not to start trying to tear the guards to shreds. There were dozens of kids, each packed into a cage that would barely fit them. The guards would sometimes start poking the kids with the back of their weapons, as if trying to make them suffer more.

"I hope everyone involved in this rots in prison for the rest of their lives," Hunter mumbled to himself as he made his way over to a closet. At night, the kids were sprayed with some kind of sleeping gas in order to keep them from escaping. So why not spray the guards with same stuff? With a grin, Hunter pulled a tank of the stuff out of the the closet. He strapped it too his back and started spraying with the hose that was attached to the tank. Despite the guards noticing him, none were able to raise the alarm fast enough and all were quickly asleep. The kids, despite not knowing who this new savoir was, cheered from him nonetheless.

* * *

"Hunter's doing his job and Maverick's on his way over, you remember what you need to do exactly, right Buck?" Duncan asked.

"Oh would you relax, I remember exactly what I need to do," Buck insisted. His job was to start moving the money from Thompson's vault into the building to safehouse. The reason Duncan had picked this guy was because he had set up in the outskirts of the city, meaning that they could move the loot without use of the van. Jean Bison had already returned it, but Murray was still gone and plus-

None of the kids could drive anyways.

Buck quickly crawled down a pole which would drop him right into the safe. Thompson's strategy to move money down was to let it slide down the pole and have someone else sort it out. Thankfully, that someone wasn't down their yet. Inside the safe, there were lasers everywhere.

Or at least their should have been.

Maverick had just finished using his drones to disable the lasers.

"Why couldn't you leave the lasers on?!" Buck whined.

"B-b-b-because t-t-then we w-w-would h-have b-b-been c-c-caught," Maverick pointed out nervously.

"But it would have been more like a real spy movie," Buck said as he started doing some (bad) martial arts moves. Maverick just gave his friend a deadpan look. The backdoor then opened, revealing Duncan, Scruffy on his shoulder.

"Mom said she's on her way over. You guys should have a clean break for the hideout. Grab all of the money. We can't let Thompson bribe his way out. Hunter is gonna help you out after he's finished freeing all the kids," Duncan explained as he tossed his friends some bags with dollar signs on them.

"W-w-where are you g-g-going?" Maverick asked.

"To take down Thompson," Duncan said as he walked off.

* * *

"Where are the children!?" Thompson demanded as he looked around. All the cages were opened and the guards were fast asleep.

"We set them free," A voice said from behind him. It was a young boy, who was maybe thirteen.

"So you think you can take me down?" Thompson said as he extended his claws, hoping this could scare him off. Instead, the kid pulled out a sliver cane.

"That's the plan," Duncan said as Scruffy fired a smoke bomb. The lion started coughing, giving Duncan a clean break to get some hits in. Even after the smoke clear, Thompson was hopelessly outmatched. Duncan was able to use the terrain of the room to his advantage. Thompson fell over, but started laughing. Even when he could hear the police sirens.

"Nice try kid, but I can just bribe those idiots at the police!" Thompson bragged. It was Duncan's turn to laugh.

"How can you bribe people with no money?" He asked. As soon as it set in on Thompson's face, Duncan gave him one final smack with is cane, knocking him out.

* * *

"Seems like you guys didn't even need me!" Duncan joked as he slid down the pole into an almost empty vault.

"Hey, don't take so long!" Hunter joked back, causing all four boys to laugh. The three animals then left, leaving Duncan a bag and enough loot to fill it. After he finished scooping all of it into the bag, he set down a Cooper Calling Card. But this one was special. It was black instead of blue and had four cuts running down the left eye.

* * *

 **So I finally wrote the boys going on a heist together. Also, if you need a reference on what Duncan's scars look like, think Nick Fury from** _ **Captain Marvel**_ **(Awesome movie by the way!) Next time, we start** _ **Sly Cooper: Honor Among Thieves**_


	28. An Opera of Fear

**oxchick1- Well….**

 **Shadow Joestar- Well, people will know about him, but not in a way he was expecting...**

 **Gamelover41592- Game 3 starts now!**

 **Matt(Guest)- He was there(it said at one point he was riding on Duncan's shoulder) he just didn't speak**

 **Speaking of that, for those of you that don't know, Sly 3 was mostly told by flashbacks. I thought that was kind of jarring, so we are going to see everything play out in order. Anyways let's begin.**

* * *

Duncan jumped out of a new safehouse in Venice. The reason they were there was because of what the member of Sly's father's gang, McSweeny had told Sly. As it turned out, the Coopers of the past had stashed all of their loot on a remote island. However, the brain of the old gang, Dr. M had been trying to get at the treasure for years, building a huge fortress around the vault. Sly wanted his inheritance, as had Duncan once he was told about the idea. However, in order to get in, the gang realized that they were going to need a team of world-class thieves in order to break in.

And to start, they needed to get Murray back.

After leaving four years back, he had been studying a mystical art called the Dreamtime from a Aboriginal guru in the Australian outback. It had been going pretty well and the guru had even let Murray go on a walkabout, letting him visit hundred of extoic and interesting looking places around, which included Venice. Hence, why the gang was there.

There was just one small problem. The local mob boss, Don Octavio.

Octavio used to be a very popular opera singer, something of a local celebrity around Venice, until the music tastes changed and rock music was the new big thing. Enraged, Octavio turned to the loyal fans he had in the mob, who quickly took him in and made him leader. This left Duncan, Bentley and Sly with two tasks: Getting Murray back and taking Don Octavio down.

"Duncan? Is that you?" A voice said from behind him. Duncan turned around and much to his glee, found his uncle.

"UNCLE MURRAY!" Duncan cheered as he leapt onto his uncle, giving him a big hug.

"Hello, young one," Murray said, surprisingly calmly.

"Aw man, it's so good to see you! So much has happened! Me, Hunter, Maverick and Buck went on our first heist together!" Duncan said. He thought back to his friends' disappointment when they found that once again, they couldn't come with Duncan on the big heist. But Sly insisted that they weren't ready. Duncan was almost banned from coming after Sly found out exactly who they went after as their first heist. Duncan knew it was just worry, but he had been able to convince his dad to let him come. Even still, Sly stayed firm that he couldn't bring his friends.

" _I'm sorry Duncan, but I just don't think they could handle this_ ," Sly had said. Either way, the threesome had said that they were going to train hard in order to not get left out again.

"That sounds like a wonderful story," Murray said. "Perhaps you'd like to share?" Duncan launched into a play-by-play of the story(with Scruffy jumping to clarify what truly happened if Duncan tried to exaggerate) that had Murray on the edge on his seat.

"Cool story, right? But that's not why we came. We need you to come back to the gang," Duncan explained. Murray just shook his head.

"Sorry, Duncan, I walk a different path. My Guru, in his wisdom, told me to lose myself and not return until the black water ran pure, so here I stay," Murray said. Duncan had noticed that the water was darker then normal.

"Look Uncle Murray, Bentley doesn't blame you for the wheelchair and I don't blame you for my scars. In fact, they have kinda grown on me," Duncan said as he took his new mask off, showing his uncle the scars.

"Listen, little one, this spirit quest is important to me, and I refuse to disobey my guru, so I need to mediate until the black water is pure," Murray replied.

"You sure he didn't tell you to get lost and not come back until you've cleaned out the water filters?" Duncan joked.

"Come on! I'm on a real spirit quest here!" Murray complained, making Duncan realize that he had hurt his Uncle's feeling.

"Sorry, sorry... tell me everything. I've missed you," Duncan said.

"Well, it's a long and awesome story... You got any gum?" Murray said as he and Duncan sat down on the sidewalk.

* * *

 **Job 1: Octavio Snap**

"Heads up, Duncan, I've intercepted a radio message from one of Octavio's men. The Don is moving towards your position!" Bentley ordered. He and Sly had just gotten back from stealing some files from one of Octavio's hideout.

"You want us to beat him up?" Duncan asked eagerly as Scruffy rubbed two of his legs together. The memories of beating up Thompson was fresh in their minds.

"No! We need evidence that he's behind this city's tar epidemic. With some incriminating photos, we might be able to help the cops prosecute him and put an end to this nonsense," Bentley said.

"Um, he's a known mob boss, how much more evidence do we need?" Duncan asked.

"All that would do is charge him with the mob, we need to prove that he also is behind all the tar," Bentley said.

"Shush! Here he comes!" Duncan said as Don Octavio walked toward the building he was on top of.

"He what's doing?" Scruffy asked. **(What's he doing)**. Suddenly, tar started pouring out of a nearby fountain.

"That's horrible!" Duncan said in shock.

"Get a picture before he finishes, this is perfect!" Bentley order. Duncan quickly whipped out his binocucom and snapped a picture. "Excellent, a few more of these and the cops will bury this guy! Follow him, he might be headed for some more polluting!"

"Got it," Duncan said as he used the rooftops to chase after Octavio, turning invisible or stealth slamming guards when needed. Bentley would also offer commentary on the pictures.

"That poor bird bath. I guess, more of a bird death trap, now. He's on the move again. Keep it up, Duncan. This is some great work,"

"Imagine, clogging a delightful water wheel with deadly, sticky tar! Monstrous! Keep on him. We want to make sure all of this horrible polluting is fully documented,"

"Is where tar the?" Scruffy asked when they saw Octavio using a pump, but saw no tar coming out. **(Where is the tar?)** Duncan snapped a picture just before the tar came out...into a fish tank.

"I-I can't believe it, he flooded that aquarium with tar... all those poor, dead fish! As much as I hate to see what heinous crime this fiend will do next, you should probably keep on his tail... someday the people will know the truth due to your pictures," Bentley lamented. Duncan saw Octavio get onto a ferris wheel. Thankfully for him, the basket had something for him to cling to.

" Listen Giovanni, this Ferris wheel was a good idea; she's-a pumping the tar fast, and nobody, but nobody suspects a thing! But still... is it going to be enough to get things ready for my opera recital?... Bella! When the people come to see me sing, I want to make-a sure they keep-a comin'... even if they don't feel like it. One way or the other, they'll be opera fans again. Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh... Ok, see you soon," Octavio said as he hopped off the ferris wheel and headed off.

"That fiend! He's twisted a time-honored amusement park ride into a tool for wrongdoing! Break open the control panel with your cane. I'm on my way to do a little rewiring," Bentley ordered. Duncan quickly opened it up with a few smacks from his cane.

"Um, what are you doing?" Duncan asked as Bentley began furiously hacking.

"Kill a bunch of poor innocent fish, will he?" Bentley said angrily. Duncan noticed that the ferris wheel was spinning much faster.

"That should do it," Bentley said. Suddenly, the ferris wheel burst off the structure it was on rolled through the town.

"Nice!" Duncan said as he watched the mindless destruction that would most likely be blamed on Octavio.

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

 **Job 2: Canal Chase**

Hey Sly, Duncan, you better get over here. My sources tell me that Octavio has hired the Blue Viper Gondola gang to take out Carmelita!" Bentley said urgently.

"The Blue Vipers? Those guys are nasty! We gotta get to them before they get to her," Sly said.

"I'll have a boat hotwired for you guys when you get here. Carmelita should be out on patrol soon.

"Got it!" Duncan said as he and Sly made their way over. Sure enough, Bentley had a boat waiting for them. The Blue Vipers were already chasing after Carmelita, who had lost her gunner and couldn't defend herself beyond dodging.

"Sly, you steer, I'll natigate and Duncan's the gunner!" Bentley ordered as the threesome sped off in the boat. It wasn't very hard. Bentley would let Sly know when to move and Duncan would take on the three Blue Vipers with his blaster, stopping every few shots in over to keep the gun from overheating. The boats were quickly sunk and Sly pulled up beside Carmelita.

"Seems like you are always saving my tail," Carmelita said as she and Sly exchanged a kiss. Ever since the Clock-La mess, Carmelita had been a lot more open in giving Sly affection back.

"Hey, you make this job fun," Sly said. They also still kept up the cat and mouse game. It was kinda like their idea of a date. Carmelita then gave Duncan a hug, which he happily returned

"See you around, ringtail!" Carmelita said as she sped off.

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

 **(Oh yeah, most jobs in Sly Three take place over the course of two days. This time, I'll play the slideshow for both the boss fight and the day transition)**

"So according to these decrypted files, Octavio is pumping tar from underneath the foundations of buildings, so he can sink them into the canals on a whim! He's going to demonstrate this destructive ability to the people of Venice during his opera recital on the first day of Carnevale. To counter this threat, we'll first destroy the balloons and sign advertising the recital. If no one shows up, he'll have no reason to sink a building. Next, the blueprints to the main tar vacuum have been cleverly split into three parts and hidden in local coffee houses owned by Octavio. Unfortunately, they're under constant guard, so you'll need to use a disguise to get us inside. Also, some big Vincenetti goons have been called in as 'insurance" for the recital'. Given their size, I think it's prudent to get Carmelita's ape mercanieries to deal with them. Thankfully, she has a similar plan herself. And finally, we'll have to convince Murray into taking to the field. If he's learned the Aboriginal Ball Form, it'll be just the thing for destroying the local tar reservoirs," Bentley explained.

"I think getting Murray back will be tough," Duncan admitted. "He's really set on this whole peace thing,"

"Yes, but, this will only involve destroying objects, not people. In other words, not violent at all," Bentley explained.

"Seems like a good plan to me!" Duncan said.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Sly asked. "Let's get moving,"

* * *

 **Job 3: Run 'n Bomb**

Duncan and Sly arrived at a fireworks stand. The shutter blocking the sale window opened and inside was Bentley.

"I've taken over this Carnevale fireworks stand as a base of operations for our next job. We need to take out the sign and balloons advertising Octavio's big comeback opera recital," Bentley explained.

"I hear ya. If no one shows up for him to extort with his building-sinking scheme, then why would he bother with the demonstration? Excavating all that tar seems like a big operation. You'd think he'd hold off until he had an audience," Sly said as Duncan just nodded.

"Exactly. Now, I've cobbled together a few explosives powerful enough to destroy the anchors to those balloons. Unfortunately, I'm a little short of fuses," Bentley explained. Duncan and Sly were quick to catch his hint.

"We'll go fast!" Duncan vowed.

"Place the dynamite when you get near the anchor, or KABOOM, body parts everywhere!" Bentley explained as he handed Duncan the first firework stick. He quickly took off. He knew where the balloon was and quickly arrived, setting it off and sending it to the sky.

"Riddance good!" Scruffy said. **(Good riddance)**

"No kidding," Duncan replied with a laugh. They heard another explosion. Sly had reached his spot, but the balloon had gotten caught. Duncan made his way over while Sly worked to free the balloon.

"That's both of them," Sly said.

"The sign and!" Scruffy chimed in. **(And the sign!)**

"Hey! Let go of me! Sly, Duncan, get back here, _quick_!" Bentley panicked. Someone was trying to confront him at the fireworks stand. Neither Cooper needed more motivation then that and broke into a sprint to reach the fireworks stand.

"Oh no," Was all Duncan could say when they reached the stand. Don Octavio was waiting for them….and he had Bentley!

"Ahh, Sly Cooper! I-a see you foiled-a my attempts to take out Inspector Fox-a," Octavio said.

"Put my friend down, or I'm gonna knock out all of your teeth, one at a time, and make you eat 'em!" Sly threatened as he pulled his cane out. Duncan copied his father's actions. Octavio just laughed.

"Hoo-ooh-ooh! That's-a the toughest talk you got? You're pathetic! Back in my day, we had enforcers that would make people pee their pants just as soon as ya look at 'em," He taunted.

"We'll do it, old timer," Duncan said.

"We don't make idle threats," Sly added.

"Oh, I know all about you and your cracked little gang. You ain't-a nothing without this little guy's-a brains. So, I figure I'll just scoop 'em out real slow, and use 'em to fertilize-a my tomato plants," Octavio said.

"I'm allergic to tomatoes!" Bentley panicked as Octavio sped off. Sly and Duncan quickly chased after him. Finally, they had cornered Octavio at the opera house.

"You want this runt? Take him!" Octavio said as he tossed Bentley-wheelchair and all-at Duncan and Sly, who quickly dodged. "I won't forget about this! You guys are _dead_!"

"You okay, Uncle Bentley?" Duncan asked.

"I'm fine. My ego's bruised, but it'll heal," Bentley said.

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

"With Octavio's comeback opera recital just a few hours away, we're all set up for the main event. Get ready for Operation: Tar-Be Gone! Our objective: Get Murray back on the team. Sly, you'll start things off by using your disguise to sneak into the opera house. Make your way to the pump room, and let me in through the side entrance. Thanks to the blueprints we stole, I now know just where to bomb to cripple the machinery. Then we'll go for Octavio's detonation switch. I'm sure you'd agree that we just can't leave a weapon that powerful in the hands of such a madman. So I'll distract the old mobster with an opera duel. He's sure not to attack while we're both on stage. Meanwhile, you'll cut the lines to the chandelier and drop it on his head! I'll swipe the switch and we'll both find Murray. By then, the black water is sure to be running clear, and he'll be free to come with us," Bentley said.

"Seems good to me, but how good of a singer are you?" Duncan asked.

"Decent enough," Bentley lied.

"Maybe one of us should let Carmelita know what we are about to go do?" Sly pointed out.

"Let's go then," Duncan said as he opened the door to the safe house, motioning for Sly to follow.

* * *

Carmelita wasn't too hard to find. She had been patrolling on top of a local building. After greeting her, Duncan and Sly told her about the plan.

"So you want me to come in for the arrest?" Carmelita asked.

"That's the plan," Sly said.

"I'll be there. Those pictures you sent in should be enough to book him," Carmelita said. "What's the cue for when it's time for me to show up?"

"A really loud bang!" Duncan told her.

* * *

"Why does _something_ always go wrong on the final mission of a job!?" Duncan wailed as he and Sly raced away from one of Carmelita's mercenaries. Right as he and Sly were about to drop the chandelier, the mercenary fired a shot at the chandelier and started chasing after the gang, forcing them to use the boat again. Octavio had also escaped on a boat, leading to yet another water chase. Thankfully, the gang was able to destroy the engines, leading Octavio crashing on a nearby shore where Murray had seen the whole thing from a rooftop.

"It's over Octavio, you're beat. Give us the demolition switch and we'll all try to ditch these cops," Sly ordered.

"You chasin' me fuh this! Fine big shot. It took me six months to prepare this-a thing... but what the hey! I got more where this came from," Octavio said as he held out the demolition switch.

"You guys see that boat go out of control and jump and smash into that thing? Destruction! So cool!" Murray said once he was able to get his thoughts together.

"You think that was 'cool' punk?" Octavio said as he activated the switch, sinking a nearby building in the ground. "Heh-heh-heh," He then walked over to Bentley and kicked him out of his wheelchair.

"Uncle Murray! Listen, we really need you! I don't think I have ever seen someone move so fast! Octavio is super old, but it looks like he's still got it. Let's take him down, the three of us!" Duncan said.

"But... but... I vowed to my Guru that I'd renounce all violence... and the water is still black!" Murray said. Duncan could tell he was conflicted.

"It'll be clear any minute, trust me. Now let's take him!" Sly said.

"You're right to be scared, Hippo. Your wheelchair friend shoulda been so smart," Octavio taunted.

"Murray... help…" Bentley begged. Hearing Octavio's taunts, along with the fact he had hurt Bentley, caused Murray to snap. He broke his necklace.

"That does it! I'll floss my teeth with your spine!" Murray vowed as he jumped down and nailed Octavio with a punch to the face. "'The Murray' returns!" From his rage, Duncan and Sly both knew that it was best to stay out of the fight. They did however, provide support by using the tar to slow Octavio down. The fight only lasted a few minutes.

"So that's it. The old guard's out and a new generation steps in," Octavio said before passing out.

"That's right, stepping in! Big time!" Murray bragged. Sly grabbed the demolition switch from Octavio while Duncan took his mask. Thankfully, it was too damaged, which surprising see how many times Murray had nailed him in the face.

"Come on Murray, I got the demolition switch. Let's get Bentley and run for it... we got cops closin' in," Sly said as they raced back to Bentley.

* * *

After scrapping Bentley off the pavement, the gang had to make a quick run for it. The cops did arrived and quickly arrested Octavio, who got thirty years for what he did to Venice. It wasn't all bad for him. After all, most of his old opera fan base was already in prison. However, the biggest victory in the gang's mind, was the return of The Murray, who was even more pleased when Jean Bison turned up in Paris with the van, good as knew. As soon as the water cleared up, he was clearly good to go.

* * *

 **Okay, Don Octavio was a really funny villain. The fact he** _ **sings**_ **every few words was fantastic. Yet he had a surprisingly deadly plan. There were probably people in those buildings he sunk….The boss fight was also a lot of fun(all three Murray boss fights are fun), even if was pretty challenging for a first boss. Anyways next time, we head of to Australia to recruit the Guru and take on some miners and the Mask of Dark Earth(No I am not kidding)**


	29. Rumble Down Under

**Gamelover41592- Okay, looks like I have some things to explain. I made the gap between games longer to give everyone a bit more time to grow and because I refuse to believe that someone on a walkabout that started in the Australian Outback reached Venice, Italy in a year or so. I figured McSweeney would know a member of his old gang, so that's why I revealed Dr. M's secret first. Also where Dimitri is will be explained later.**

 **Foxchick1- It was a very fun fight. It was weird, but fun. The Mask itself was pretty boring though. Really? A Mask? That's the best idea for a villain you could come up with?**

 **Shadow Joestar- He's gonna to react in a pretty funny way**

 **Time to get the next member of the Cooper Gang. I'm not gonna keep you any longer. Let's go!**

* * *

Despite being happy that Murray had returned, the rest of the gang was quick was realize that his heart wasn't in it. He was clearly uncomfortable that he never got the Guru's permission to give up on his training. In order to cheer him up, Sly had come up with the idea to fly to Australia to talk to the Guru. Murray was all aboard with this plan. On the flight over, Murray had told the gang story after story about this Guru's mystical powers. He had such a mastery of the Dreamtime art that he could blend in with the environment and take control of the weak-minded. Sly had proposed the idea of the Guru joining the gang, as they needed a lot more power to break into the Cooper vault, which pleased Murray quite a bit. However, once they reached the outback, what they found was that a bunch of miners had set up shop and the Guru was nowhere to be found.

* * *

 **Job 1: Search for the Guru**

After setting up a safe house, Duncan and Sly had been sent by Bentley and Murray to hunt the Guru down.

"My master spends most of his time up there in that cave, overlooking the valley and contemplating the depths of deepness. I really appreciate you breaking the news to him that I want to break off my training," Murray said. The cave was pretty high up, but nothing a Cooper couldn't handle.

"No problem pal, I'm looking forward to meeting him. Anybody you call 'master' must be a heck of a guy," Sly said while Duncan nodded.

"Oh, he's awesome! He'll get inside your head and freak you out six ways from Sunday!" Murray said.

"Uh... awesome!" Duncan replied unsurely.

"Awesome, yeah totally," Scruffy added, just as unsure as Duncan. **(Yeah, totally awesome)**

"Let's just get moving," Sly ordered. Sure enough, it wasn't hard to scale the cliffs at all. However, there was nothing in the cave.

"Looks like nobody is home," Duncan deadpanned.

"Got any other ideas where he might be?" Sly asked.

"Well...there's his hut. But he doesn't really hang out there on... account of the smell," Murray said sheepishly.

"Smell the?" Scruffy asked. **(The smell?)**

"It's a long story... I had to apologize up and down for like a month before he'd speak to me again," Murray explained.

"What'd you _do_?" Sly asked.

"The unspeakable, Sly... The _un_ -speakable!" Murray said gravely.

"Thanks for speaking of it and giving me some really nasty mental images," Duncan deadpanned.

"We're headed for the hut," Sly said in the same tone as his son. Once again, it was an easy climb.

"Whoa, looks like a fight broke out here!" Duncan said once they reached the hut. It looked halfway destroyed.

"Miners the him did get?" Scruffy pointed out. **(Did the miners get him?)**

"You guys may be right. They'd come in and be all angry and yelling, and he'd be all peaceful, and they'd just get ticked. Then he'd try to find "a middle way," and they'd just go crazy and smash everything up, and then haul him off!" Murray deduced.

"Where do you think they might have taken him?" Sly asked.

"They got him! My master's a goner!" Murray wailed.

"Maybe we should have Uncle Bentley help?" Duncan offered.

"Bentley, any ideas?" Sly asked.

"It's tough to say, but... given the layout of the miners camp, I'd venture a guess that they use that area with a high fence as a makeshift stockade," Bentley offered. Duncan looked at the area he was pointing out and thought he could see something in there.

"I think I see something!" Duncan cheered as he pointed to the area. Sly could see it as well and started trying to find a way up.

"Hmm, looks like there might be a way up using that cliff below. Shouldn't be a problem," Sly said.

"Just keep an eye out for that gyrocopter. I'm positive it's what gave away the Guru's position," Bentley warned them.

"Thanks Uncle Bentley," Duncan thanked him as he and Sly began their climb.

"These miners have no respect for the Aboriginal sacred sights! They're drilling into everything: Ayers Rock, Kings Canyon, Wave Rock... The cultural insensitivity is sickening!" Bentley said in disgust at one point. After a few more minutes, they had reached the stockade and a purple koala came out.

"You must be the Guru. We're good friends of Murray's. He's come asking to be released from his training," Sly said. The Guru replied. To anyone who the Guru wasn't talking to directly, it sounded like gibberish, but Sly and Duncan could both hear him clearly.

" _Hmm, very well. However, I would like to speak to my student directly_ ," The Guru explained.

"Okay, we'll just get you out of here and you talk to him," Duncan said.

" _No! When I was captured, the miners took my walking staff and moonstone. They are what allow me to access my Dreamtime arts,_ " The Guru replied.

"You really won't leave without your stuff?" Duncan asked.

" _Yes. If it isn't to much to ask, I would also like to remove these miners for my land. This place is sacred to me. There are also...things here that they may have already unearthed that should have never been found again_ ," The Guru said gravely.

"Yeah, I can see that the miners have really done a number on your land here. As for your walking staff and Moon Stone, me and my gang have a real talent for stealing back things that were wrongfully taken," Sly said cockily.

" _Thank you, Sly and Duncan Cooper,_ " The Guru said.

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

 **(I know I said I wasn't going to do all the slideshows, but this one explains somethings that will be important to the chapter)**

After meeting the Guru on his own, Bentley had created a new slideshow.

"The Guru won't leave the stockade until he has his Walking Staff and his Moon Stone. He also insists that we purify Ayers Rock of all miners. Only then will the Dreamtime spirits be appeased, and the Guru will be free to use his powers. Sly must've impressed him in their conversation, because now he has requested that Murray and I meet with him individually. Something about judging our "Spiritual Centers." I've discovered a passage through one of the miners' caves that should make getting up to the Guru less difficult. He also mentioned that the miners had foolishly unearthed The Mask of Dark Earth. I guess it was his job to guard the thing, and now that it's out, bad things are sure to follow. Sounds like mumbo jumbo to me, but we've encountered some unexplainable phenomena over the years. So I'm not gonna rule it out as a threat to our operation," Bentley explained.

* * *

 **Job 2: Dark Caves**

"After capturing the Guru, the dingoes confiscated his magic Walking Staff and Moon Stone. Without these objects, the Guru is powerless!" Bentley explained.

"There's probably hidden inside one of these caves. There's gonna be a ton of goons in there and it's not an obvious spot," Duncan said.

"I agree. The most likely candidate is this mine shaft. It appears to have the highest number of workers coming in and out," Bentley explained.

"On we're it!" Scruffy said. **(We're on it!)**. Once they were at the cave entrance, Bentley chimed in again.

"Those caves are gonna be dark. Your optimizer goggles will make navigation easier," He said.

"Got it!" Duncan said as he placed his binocucom over his eyes, making sure the strap was tight around his head before activating the goggles feature starting across the cave. Sure enough, it was pretty dark, but thanks to the goggles, he could see clearly.

"If they're here, the Guru's items will be stashed at the far end of this cave," Bentley said once Duncan was instead.

"Jewels pretty!" Scruffy said as he looked at the cave walls. **(Pretty jewels)**

"I'm not into tearing up the environment or anything, but these caves are rich with opals. I can see why these miners are so driven," Bentley said. Duncan noticed that a few had fallen onto the platforms and slipped them into his pocket.

"I'm sure they won't mind if we take a few," Duncan said as he continued until he reached Moon Stone. "Time to take you back to your rightful owner," However, as soon as Duncan grabbed it, it started beeping.

"A trap it's!" Scruffy panicked. **(It's a trap!)**

"I've heard Uncle Bentley talk about these kinds of bombs! If I can get back outside, they should power down," Duncan explained to Scruffy as he rushed out of the cave. Sure enough, as soon as the sun was on the bomb, it powered down.

"The Guru's Walking Staff must be hidden in their other cave complex. I've marked the entrance in your binocucom,"

"Have probably bomb another," Scruffy said under his breath. **(Probably have another bomb)**

"No kidding," Duncan said as he walked into the next cave.

"These caves have no ambient light whatsoever! Fortunately, it seems the Guru's Moon Stone is providing enough illumination to let you see. Watch your step, these mine pits are deep!" Bentley warned. Despite the stone being pretty bright, Duncan put the optimizer goggles back on, just to be safe. Once again, the item needed was at the other end of the cave. And once again, there was a bomb on the item

"How paranoid are these guys!?" Duncan ranted. "This is a stick!" Behind him, some dingoes appeared to stop Duncan. "And they're right behind me,"

"Got I this," Scruffy said as he started firing knockout darts at all the guards, letting Duncan make a clean break for the exit.

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

 **Job 3: Big Truck**

"Whoa! Look at the size of those scorpions!" Duncan said as he looked out of the window of the massive truck he was riding in. For the mission to free the Guru, they needed to "purify" Ayers Rock. Bentley had come up with idea of using the truck to capture giant scorpions to chase the miners out using the giant truck, which could do a forward flip. First Sly had to use a drill to get them to come out from underground. However, Murray also had to run over scorpions(thankfully, the blue type were useless for the plan, so they could be run over to spare the red ones) or drive through water to keep the tires from melting.

"They are called _giant_ scorpions for a reason," Bentley pointed as Murray flipped the truck again, catching two more and bringing the total up to eight. "Murray, Duncan, hang tough for a minute. My sensors are showing a drop off in underground movement. We'll have to drill deeper to keep the scorpions coming out. Sly, you'll have to climb to the top of the drill tower and override the depth control system,"

"Okay Bentley. I'm on my way," Sly said as he began his trek up the top of the tower. Within a few minutes, the drill went deeper.

"It's working!" Bentley cheered as more scorpions poured out. However, he stopped cheering when he saw that drilling deeper had an negative side effect. "Wait a minute... it's draining the water around the tower! Murray, you'll have to rely on squishing scorpions to keep your tires cool from here on out!"

"No problem Bentley. I totally got the hang of it now," Murray said confidently. Sure enough, he did and they had twenty scorpions

"Great job Murray. Now back that truck full of scorpions up to the mine and deliver that not-so-friendly payload," Bentley ordered. Sly jumped into the truck and they drove over to the mine, where Murray dropped off the scorpions, sending the guards running.

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

" _I would like to thank you all for your assistance with freeing me, as well as purifying the land. However, I will only assist you if you help me rid this land of both the miners and the Mask of Dark Earth_ ," The Guru said once he was back at the safe house. Murray had seen the Mask on a guard when he was heading to talk to the Guru, confirming it was a threat in the gang and the land. Naturally, Bentley had prepped a slideshow.

"The Guru has agreed to join our team! Provided we can rid his homeland of the dingo miners and deal with the Mask of Dark Earth. A tall order, but we're up for it. First we'll enlist the aid of some local wildlife to help "thin" out the miners ranks. Murray will feed our foes to a local giant crocodile. With some luck he'll take a liking to the taste of miners, and chow down on them left and right! Second, we'll hit these guys where they live. Or at least relax. If we can clear' em out of this lemonade bar, it'll be a crippling blow to their morale. They'll be begging to go home. And finally, Sly'll use some mining equipment to drill for radioactive oil deep beneath the dried lakebed. Trust me, it's the key to getting rid of the Mask of Dark Earth," Bentley explained. The Guru just looked confused at the technology that Bentley was using

* * *

 **Job 4: The Claw(If you didn't say this like the** _ **Toy Story**_ **aliens, something is wrong with you)**

"I am one the only this who thought bad was idea a?" Scruffy asked once they arrived at the oil fields. **(Am I the only one who thought this was a bad idea?)**

"Well, too late now," Duncan replied. The main problem Scruffy had was that they were mining for radioactive oil with no real safety equipment.

"Sly, Duncan, phase 1 is to protect these power stations while Murray gets all six oil wells flowing. Use this SuperClaw 10,000 to deal with any miners that might show up," Bentley ordered, causing Duncan to focus on what they had to do. Sly moved the crane, while Duncan picked up and dropped objects.

"Face it, Bentley. We're naturals," Sly bragged.

"Hope you're right 'cause it looks like the miners are onto us. Defend the power stations by using everything and anything in the oil fields. This electric fence should come in especially handy for dispatching guards. Here they come!" Bentley said. As Murray worked to get the oil flowing, Sly and Duncan took out the guards in anyway they could, whether it was tossing them into the electric fence, dropping rocks or explosives on them, or dropping them into a pit. With their support, Murray was able get the valves flowing and get the uranium needed into it.

"Sly! Duncan! Guys, look at me! I'm glowing! Whoo!" Murray cheered as he gleefully covered himself in the glowing oil.

"The guru can get rid of any nasty stuff in Uncle Murray right," Duncan said as he put on a hazmat suit that was in the crane. Apparently the miners knew about.

"Let's hope," Sly said as he put on a suit of his own.

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

"You can feel it in the air, the miners are about to pack it in! In fact they'd probably already be long gone if it weren't for the corrupting influence of the Mask of Dark Earth. It's clear we need to destroy it. Time for Operation: Moon Crash! To start things off, we'll need the Guru to take out the gyrocopter. With it gone, we'll have clear skies for phase 2. Now according to Aboriginal folklore, the Mask of Dark Earth is the sworn enemy of the Moon Spirit. So given Murray's "moon shape," we'll coat him in the glowing oil and have him pose as the spirit. We'll then dangle him from the crane. The Mask is sure to spot his ancient foe and come running. That's when we'll strike! Murray, Thunder Flop off the crane and obliterate that Mask! With the Mask destroyed and the miners run off, the Guru we'll be free to join the team for the Cooper vault job!" Bentley explained with yet another trademark slideshow.

" _Let us purify this sacred land,_ " The Guru said.

* * *

" What. The .Fuck," Duncan said, not even caring that Sly would yell at him for cursing later. When Murray was dropped on the guard wearing the mask, it flew off and latched onto Carmelita, who had turned up to investigate an illegal mining operation. While she chased after Sly and Duncan, Bentley had tried to subdue her with some sleep darts. Instead, the chemicals mixed with Mask's powers and turned Carmelita into a giant.

" _Indeed_ ," The Guru said as everyone raced for the big truck. Murray pulled out and quickly sped off, Carmelita hot on their tails. She tried to stop the truck by using dynamite from a truck, but with the help of a convenient crane on the the truck, Duncan was able to toss the dynamite back at her. Finally, they stopped in a nearby canyon, just in time for Carmelita's man to show up.

"She's too huge! We can outrun her in the truck," Murray panicked.

" _The Mask will only grow her body the more we press an attack,_ " The Guru revealed.

"This is bad! We need a new strategy and fast. Force just isn't working," Bentley

"Time to stop running and deal with the real problem. Pry off that Mask of Dark Earth, and maybe we'll get back the Carmelita we all know and love," Sly said.

"I liked mom better when she was tiny! And not possessed by an evil mask," Duncan added.

"You're the climber... and I'm sure you've always wanted to get closer to her. Can't get much closer than climbing up her boot laces," Bentley said. Duncan knew this was going to be _very_ awkward for him.

"That's not a crazy idea," Sly said.

"Oh yeah, it's totally crazy," Murray countered.

"You have a better idea, Uncle Murray?" Duncan asked.

"Yeah, but we'll need a giant fighting robot," Murray.

"Sorry, gonna have to go with the boot lace plan," Sly said as he started to run towards the Carmelita.

"The giant robot would be pretty cool though," Duncan said as she chased after Sly. Each of them took a different side of Carmelita, Sly on the right, Duncan on the left.

"So this wrong is!" Scruffy groaned as he buried his face in his legs. **(This is so wrong!)**

"Took the words right out of my mouth," Duncan said. Sly had just gotten his side of the mask off and had jumped off. Duncan quickly followed suit. The Mask of Dark Earth fell off Carmelita's face, causing her to shrink down. Her mercenaries started shooting at the mask, causing it to explode.

* * *

 **Sorry this took so long! School has been busy! Anyways, this was always one of my favorite missions in Sly 3, with jobs like Lemonade Rage(Not featured in this fic although it was really close to getting in), Hungry Croc(Murray Mission)and Operation Moon-Crash being a lot of fun. The boss fight was pretty cool too, even if it was really** _ **really**_ **stupid. The biggest problem was the Mask of Dark Earth. Was this really the best villain they could come up with? A mask? Lame. As for Guru, while I'm peeved that they never put subtitles so we could understand him, was a pretty fun character. He had an interesting concept, a cool design, and I loved how they would show him being confused about the modern world in cutscenes-it was a cute touch. Next time, we are off to Holland for some dogfights with the Black Baron and recruit Penelope!**


	30. Flight of Fancy

**Shadow Joestar- You got that right**

 **Gamelover41592- The reference was my way of showing love to the series and to show hype for Toy Story 4**

 **Hey, I was wondering about something. Did anyone, when they were reading Gwen or Duncan's lines when they were younger, hear their Total Dramarama voices? Just wondering. Anyways, time to pick up the next recruit(and later on, most controversial), Penelope!**

* * *

After returning from Australia, Bentley went right back to work on trying to figure out a way into the Cooper vault. However, he came to the conclusion that the gang needed a RC specialist, someone even better then him. After a while, he found this girl on a chat room, Penelope. She turned the gang down, but later made a counteroffer. If the gang could beat her boss, the Black Baron in his dogfighting contest, ACES, she would happily join. Sly had offered to be the first flyer and Carmelita had also offered to fly. However, the gang would be getting a third flyer in the form of Muggshot. He had been getting into dogfighting himself, but someone had poisoned or injured all of his normal team mates. As such, he had offered to join up and lend out his planes for the job. Bentley saying they would owe Muggshot and Mz. Ruby a favor probably helped getting them to agree. Speaking of Mz. Ruby, she would be watching from home because as it turns out, her and Muggshot had a baby! It was a boy and it looked more like Muggshot, but had Mz. Ruby's skin color(so green fur) and tail, along with her hair color. In Duncan's mind, it was his new cousin.

* * *

 **Job 1: Hidden Flight Roster**

"So what's the plan and why am I here?" Duncan asked. They were all dressed in pilot outfits.

"Why is the little squirt here?" Muggshot added. "If anything, it gives the other teams an idea for sabotage!"

"Sabotage?" Carmelita asked.

"Ya don't know? Some real dirty stuff goes on after hours in order to keep the other teams away from challengin' the ol'Baron," Muggshot explained. "No team ever denies it,"

"Wait, so you are saying that some teams would be willing to kidnap a kid in order to give themselves an edge in the fights?" Sly asked.

"Yeah," Muggshot said.

"Lovely," Carmelita snarked.

"Focus guys!" Bentley ordered. "If we're going to succeed in this year's ACES Competition, we'll need to know who we're flying against,"

"They keep the flight roster a secret?" Sly asked.

"Correct. As Muggshot explained, in years past, competitors would go out at night and sabotage each other's planes, in preparation for the next day's dogfight," Bentley summarized.

"Oh, so now they don't know who to sabotage. That makes sense!" Duncan realized.

"Precisely. Look guys, you're all good pilots, but we've only got three plane, and you'll be up there against dozens of bogeys," Bentley said.

"You know, normally I'd makes some sarcastic remark about how 'overwhelmed I am by your confidence in me,' but those are some grim odds... and well, you know, I'm always up for some sabotage," Sly admitted. Behind him, Carmelita rolled her eyes.

"Glad to hear it. Now the roster is kept secret from the pilots, but not from the event staff," Bentley said. "However, this doesn't really help us, seeing as we have no one on the inside. So just wander around and look for something," Everyone split up and walked off to do their own thing. Sly and Carmelita went together, seeing as now, they could barely spend ten minutes without the other. Muggshot made his way over to the bar, both in hopes of a drink and for a chance to get information. Duncan tried to play up the idea that he was just a bored teen who got dragged to the event by his pilot parents and was looking for something interesting. Finally, he did find something interesting. A computer terminal.

"Buddy, you think you can hack this?" Duncan asked. Hacking was one of Scruffy's less used upgrades. Bentley was on the team for a reason and so was Maverick, but it was good to have around.

"That is question even a?" Scruffy asked as he jumped onto the terminal and started hacking away. **(Is that even a question)**. Duncan stood in front of the terminal in order to block anyone from seeing Scruffy.

"It found!" Scruffy cheered. **(Found it!)**

"Where?" Duncan asked.

"Art behind the in Baron Black's hanger air!" Scruffy revealed. **(Behind art in the Black Baron's air hanger!)**

"Nice work, now let's-" Duncan began to say, only for the Black Baron to walk in. Duncan quickly moved away from the terminal.

"I bid you all a most flamboyant welcome, my esteemed comrades of the skies. Welcome, WELCOME to another year of the ACES competition. We've got teams here from across the globe: Canada, Belgium, Ecuador, Iceland, Korea and many, many more! Not the least of which is last year's deadly runner-up, Team Sir Raleigh!" The Black Baron welcomed. Duncan turned around and sure enough, Sir Raleigh the frog was on the balcony, an aviator's hat in place of his top hat.

"And this year, my esteemed team and I WON'T SETTLE FOR ANYTHING LESS THEN FIRST PLACE!" Raleigh vowed.

"This could cause problems," Muggshot said nervously.

"Now, we all know that in years past, some teams have engaged in a little 'good-natured' late night hi-jinx," The Black Baron said. Several pilots burst into laughter.

"Like when Team Canada stole Ecuador's parachutes!"

"Or when Team Iceland sawed the landing gear off Korea's planes!"

"Or when Portugal put rat poison in Team Sir Raleigh's coffee machine!"

"Yes, yes, that was all so VERY funny. But no more! You know the rules, no one, absolutely NO ONE is to leave the hotel after sunset. If my guards catch you outside, you will be beaten to within an inch of your life. No exceptions! This WILL BE a fair competition!" The Black Baron vowed.

"Same as last year and the year before... I've got the scars to prove it!" A pilot called out, causing more laughter.

"I bid you all an exuberant and exaggerated farewell, pilots. Tonight, sleep like geese... and tomorrow, soar like eagles, high! What-what? Ha-ha!" The Black Baron said before he left to cheers.

"Guys, I know where the roster is!" Duncan said over the binocucom. Everyone came over to him

"Where?" Sly asked.

"Behind art in the Baron's air hanger," Duncan revealed.

"Sounds like a mission for Bentley and I," Sly mumbled to himself.

"Fair enough," Muggshot said.

"Let's get back to the room," Carmelita said as she, Duncan and Muggshot walked off.

* * *

 **Job complete**

* * *

Okay everyone, according to the ACES flight lineup, we'll be flying against Team Iceland and Team Belgium in tomorrow's semifinal round. As you're all aware, we've only got three planes, while our opponents will be flying 15 apiece. You got that guys? That's 30 to 3 odds against us. In order to give us a fighting chance, we'll need to pin these two teams against each other. First, Murray and Duncan will paddle through the sewers beneath town to get access to an air vent leading into Team Iceland's hotel room. Steal one of their trademark Viking helmets, then head over to Team Belgium's hangar. Vandalize one of their aircraft then plant the helmet in order to frame Team Iceland for the damage. Next, Muggshot and I will steal one of Team Belgium's monogrammed handkerchiefs. Meanwhile, the Guru will break into the Team Iceland supply truck carrying their lucky ice sculpture. Sly will steal the art, and then place the handkerchief insinuating Team Belgium for the crime. Get it? We frame both teams so they'll be gunning for each other and not us in the semifinals! All the while, Carmelita and I'll be setting up defenses around the Team Cooper air hangar. You never know when one of the other teams might come looking to do us some harm," Bentley explained, using yet another slideshow.

* * *

 **Job 2: Frame Team Iceland**

Duncan groaned as he worked his way through the vents. He really wished he could just pick the lock, but that would prove the door was forced open and make Team Iceland look innocent. As such, he and Murray had to move through the sewers, which beyond smelling really bad, was riddled with traps.

"Are what stealing we?" Scruffy asked. **(What are we stealing?)**

"One of these nut's viking helmets," Duncan said as he climbed into the room.

"Nice work, you're almost there. Be careful not to wake these guys up. They're a paranoid group, and have probably set up some crude burglar alarms," Bentley warned. Sure enough, there were things like stacks of plates or playing card towers that would make a lot of noise if they fell over. Either way, for a master thief, it was no problem and Duncan quickly grabbed the viking helmet and made his way back to the vent.

"Nice work. Head back to Murray and the raft," Bentley said.

"Already on my way," Duncan said as he climbed in and quietly shut the vent behind him. Murray was waiting as soon as he reached the sewers,"

"Sorry pal, the valve gates changed position. We need to escape through another tunnel, but fear not, 'The Murray' has an unnatural sense of direction!" Murray declared as he made his way through the sewers. Sure enough, they quickly found the exit.

"Nice job. You really showed some skills with those oars," Duncan complimented his uncle.

"'The Murray' is, and always has been, SKILL!" Murray bragged as he flexed.

"Uh, yeah, you think you can plant this helmet on the Belgium plane? After you wreck it?" Duncan asked as he handed his uncle the viking helmet.

"Can do, pal... can do with a vengeance!" Murray said as he headed off. A few minutes later, the Belgium plane was in ruins and the viking helmet was in the cockpit.

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

"Whoa! What happened here!?" Duncan asked as he walked into the Cooper Gang's hanger. Dozens of unconscious pilots littered the floor and some of the Black Baron's guards were dragging them out. Penelope was also there, talking to Carmelita and Bentley. She looked nothing like her profile picture. Granted, Duncan had already guessed that, seeing how badly, Bentley and Penelope had photoshopped them. How Bentley bought it was beyond him.

"Raleigh sent some of his goons to destroy the planes as revenge for what happened in the Isle of Wrath," Carmelita explained.

"Makes sense," Duncan said before turning to Bentley and Penelope with a classic Cooper grin. "Isn't _this_ an awkward first meeting?" Penelope was a shorter girl, wearing dirty overalls, gloves and boots and a red bandana. Her and Bentley just stared at each other for a few seconds before turning away, blushing.

"I...I like you better in real life," Penelope said.

"Same," Bentley agreed.

"I think I should go, the Black Baron will kill me if I'm not back to fix the planes for tomorrow," Penelope said hastily as she walked out with the last of the guards.

* * *

 **(The part where Penelope was crushing on Sly was stupid, so it's being skipped)**

"Nice work dad!" Duncan cheered as Sly took down yet another plane. With the sabotages made, Belgium and Iceland were at each other's throats, but Sly, Carmelita and Muggshot still were not having an easy time. Due to the small size of the team, a few pilots had tried to off them all in one quick swoop, only to be taken out. Carmelita had just shot down another plane and Sly found himself swooning at her in her pilot's outfit.

* * *

"Thanks to our flight team's flying, we're officially in the ACES finals! Our opponents: Team Sir Raleigh and Team Black Baron. The rules in the finals are a bit different than normal. Whoever takes out the defending champ gets the title. Hear that everyone? It's all about taking down the Baron! Our only real competition will be Raleigh himself. We need to remove him from the competition. Here's the plan: I'll challenge him to a fist fight out in the town square. Carmelita, get your mericaneres into the same spot. When the two meet, the sparks are sure to fly! With some luck, the frog'll get carted off to jail and we'll have clear skies for the finals. However the Baron won't be so easy to deal with. He commands an enormous team of fliers and has been known to bring in a squad of blimp gunships when things look grim. The answer to our problem isn't obvious, although it is potent. Behold: Lupus Gigantormus. I'll drug the beast so that the Guru will be able to ride it and take out some of the local guards, who also serve as the Baron's pilots. Obviously, the fewer enemy pilots you guys have to deal with in the finals, the better. Next, I'll hack into the aircraft control tower. If successful, I'll be able to intercept any messages the Baron might send to his gunships. Alright team, we've got all night to prepare. If we take this thing it'll be more than a trophy, Penelope is sure to join our gang. After her stellar work defending our hangar, I'm sure we'd all agree that she's a prime recruit," Bentley said with yet another slideshow.

"Uh, I guess now would be the best time ta ask. I was wondering if I could maybe help ya guys out when ya get to that vault? Can't come with ya to find more members, I gotta get home, but I figured getting a little air power could help ya guys out," Muggshot said. Bentley pulled out the the Cooper Vault blueprints.

"Hmmm, yes I do think we could use quite a bit of air support. You're in!" Bentley said.

"Alright!" Muggshot cheered.

* * *

 **So because none of the jobs left could have Duncan, I only left the slideshow so you guys could see what happens. Moving on to the final job**

"Thanks to our combined efforts, we're now ready for the final round of the ACES Dogfighting competition. Put on your helmets, cause it's time for Operation: Turbo Dominant Eagle! In just a few hours, Team Iceland and Team Belgium will begin fighting it out in the B-Champs round. This'll provide the perfect cover for step one of my plan. Duncan, use the catapult and your Paraglider to get access to the local gunships. Plant some tracking devices, then head back to the team hangar and get ready to get out of hear. Murray, you're up next. Use your rowboat to pull down the aircraft communication antenna. With it out of commission, the Baron will have to use an unscrambled radio frequency to call in the gunships for backup. If that happens, I'll be ready with our secret weapon. And with the tracking devices installed, I'm guaranteed not to miss. In the end though, it'll be up to Sly, Carmelita and Muggshot. This is a sudden death competition. The first team to take out last year's champ wins! That's _if_ the Black Baron doesn't take out all the competition first," Bentley explained as everyone gave some form of conformation.

* * *

"Excellent! The B-Champs dogfight is beginning! With these guys going at it, no one will notice as you slip onto the gunships and plant a tracking device," Bentley explained once Duncan had reached the top of the Black Baron's hanger/castle.

"Where'd you get these? They look really funny," Duncan said as he looked at the trackers.

"Best I could do on short notice. They're sensitive to extreme changes in altitude. You'll have to pull this job off at high elevation or it's a bust," Bentley said.

"No problem," Duncan said as he used the catapult on the roof to launch himself into the air. Just as he had said, getting onto the blimps was no problem and he quickly planted all four trackers.

"Great work, Flyboy junior , the gunships' GPS data is flowing in," Bentley congratulated.

"Um, are how getting down we?" Scruffy asked. **(Um, how are we getting down?)**

"The same way we got onto the blimps," Duncan said as he jumped off and used the paraglider to glide back down.

* * *

"What? Who is this? How did you find this frequency? What!? No! Huh? Desist, halt! I COMMAND IT!" The Black Baron ordered as Bentley destroyed his gunships. Thanks to the teamwork between Sly, Carmelita and Muggshot, he had been shot down and, sure enough, had called for backup.

"We've got him!" Muggshot said.

"Gah! This plane's come unfixed... high time for an upgrade, I say," The Black Baron said as he jumped onto the wing of an airliner he had.

"Oh, no you don't, you weasel!" Sly said as he paraglided out of his plane. "Carmelita! Muggshot! Keep all the other fighters off of us!"

"Roger that, Sly!" Carmelita said as her and Muggshot flew off. The Black Baron and Sly faced each other down.

"'Weasel,' am I?" The Black Baron asked.

"We beat you! Your biplane is in pieces," Sly pointed out.

"Bah-hah, but we're both still airborne, aren't we? Not to mention, we both have pilots still in the air. The victor has yet to be decided," The Black Baron argued.

"Then, let's settle it," Sly challenged.

"Beware, my boy. I've trained ten years at fisticuffs. Pugilism is my passion," The Black Baron threatened.

"If you fight as well as you fly, this shouldn't take long," Sly taunted.

"En garde!" The Black Baron said. Despite his skills, the Black Baron just couldn't keep up with Sly's own fighting skills. Smoke started coming out of his face, and when it cleared, Penelope was there!

"That's enough... you win, Cooper," She said between coughs. Sly couldn't believe his eyes.

"Wait, you? You're Penelope, the Baron's mechanic. No...no you ARE the Black Baron!" Sly realized once he could get his dreams together.

"Suppose someone was bound to find out sooner or later... I guess I'm kind of relieved," Penelope admitted.

"But why?" Sly asked.

"Look, let's talk on the ground... where it's safe," Penelope offered as the plane started to land.

* * *

After the Cooper Gang had received the trophy for winning, Penelope had taken them to a local restaurant to explain things.

"So explain," Carmelita said.

"I've always wanted to be a dogfighter, but the age requirements are really strict. You can only be a flyer at thirty and I just turned twenty five. I made up the Black Baron in order to compete. But I kept winning and putting on the costume as the Baron grew in popularity," Penelope explained. "And-what's up with that spider?"

"Oh Scruffy?" Duncan said as he swallowed a bite of a hamburger he was eating. The spider in question was eating the things he had pulled out of his food. "He was created by the worst enemy of dad's family but he got thrown out for being too nice. Now he's my pet,"

"Happier and!" Scruffy said as he climbed onto Duncan's shoulder. **(And happier!)**

"Anyways, do you think you are ready to join the gang?" Sly asked Penelope. She grinned.

"Definitely!"

* * *

 **And that's another member down! Seeing as she is a completely different character in the next game, I'll just give my thoughts on Penelope in this game. I really liked her. She had a cute personality and design and her romance with Bentley was really sweet. As for Flight of Fancy itself, I liked it. Not as fun as Rumble Down Under, but still fun. The dogfighting missions, while challenging were a lot of fun. And seeing Muggshot again was a true treat! Next time, we are off to China to recruit the Panda King and defeat General Tsao!**


	31. A Cold Alliance

**Gamelover41592- Relax my friend, I will be removing** _ **BOTH**_ **of the things Sly 4 is hated for(Even if it's my favorite game in the series). And the pirate mission is my favorite in Sly 3 so I have plans to make it work. Notice how the gang said they own** _ **Muggshot**_ **a favor now**

 **Shadow Joestar- Sorry Dimitri will not be in the story. As funny as he is, I wanted to use what I set up for Muggshot and Mz. Ruby instead.**

 **Okay, you all know the drill at this point. Let's go.**

* * *

Once again, Bentley had decided the gang needed another member. This time, it was a demolition specialist. The choice for said member didn't surprise anyone. The Panda King was the best option. His skills with fireworks were rivaled by none. Carmelita was already on another case, so the gang choose not to bother her. Either way, they packed up and headed for the chinese mountains. The Panda King was rumored to have become a monk there.

* * *

 **Job 1: King of Fire**

"Can he hear us?" Duncan asked. They had seen the Panda King atop a large pillar, but he was not responding to anything.

" _He must be in a deep meditative trance_ ," The Guru realized.

"And how do we get him out of that trance?" Sly asked.

"We'll need to get up there. Hmmm, it'll take some doing, but I think I see a way to get the team up to his shrine," Bentley explained. "Murray, you're up first. If you can get to the top of that pillar, you should be able to use your ball move to bounce all the way up to the Panda King,"

"You got it Bentley!" Murray said. He quickly curled himself into a little ball and managed to bounce himself up to the Panda King. "Okay, I'm in position!"

"Penelope, you're up next. I'm not sure if you're aware, but Sly and Duncan can jump onto small points. Those bamboo shoots would be an ideal means of ascent if they weren't spaced so far apart," Bentley said.

"Hold on, hold on... let me see if I can figure it out for myself," Penelope isisted.

"It's, uh... got to do with the ice," Bentley hinted.

"Okay, so clearly we need more points in order for Sly to ascend. The problem: where're we going to get 'em? The answer: split each shoot down the middle, thereby doubling the points of ascension. However, the ice down there appears too thin to walk on, so there's no way to do it by hand. So, I'll need to use my lightweight remote control car to split the trees for us," Penelope realized.

"Perfect, that's it exactly!" Bentley said. Pulling out said car, Penelope got right to work, quickly splitting the poles in half.

"Thanks rookie!" Duncan joked as he and Sly used the bamboo to work their way over to Murray.

"Whack the supports up on those pinwheels," Bentley said.

"Really?" Sly asked.

"Pinwheel destabilization is the cornerstone of this plan!" Bentley insisted.

"Whatever you say, Uncle Bentley," Duncan said with a sigh.

"Jump into my hands and I'll throw you up there," Murray offered. Duncan and Sly were quickly able to get them destabilized. Bentley lit the rockets on the pinwheels and the Guru knocked them over, making a bridge all the way up to the Panda King.

"So now what?" Duncan asked.

" _He is deeply focused in his meditative stance_ ," The Guru said.

"I agree, he's in a super-meditative state," Bentley agreed.

"So let's just shout in his ear," Duncan said.

" No, to break him out of this trance, we'll need to delve into his mind," Bentley explained.

"A hacksaw then?" Sly offered.

"No, it'll require channeling," Bentley explained.

" _I believe I could channel their minds together_ ," The Guru said.

"Sly, sit beside the Panda King. The Guru will bridge your minds," Bentley ordered. Sly did as told and the Guru bridged their minds. No one knew what was going on in there, but soon, both man were awake.

"Ah, so you have found new members," The Panda King marveled as he looked over the Guru and Penelope.

"Listen, we actually have an offer for you," Sly said. "We need a demolition expert for a really big job and we were wondering if you would like the job,"

"Plus, your skills are unmatched by anyone else," Duncan added in. Flattery was one of his favorite tools to get away with things at home. Or to steal the last cookie from under Hunter's nose.

"I cannot leave yet. I have someone who needs me," The Panda King said sadly before turning to Sly. "You are not the only one with a child, as I'm sure you remember me saying at our duel. I, however, failed to protect mine. A war general from the northern mountains took her from me and banished me when I tried to resist. She is to be his bride in order to increase power to his family name," All the other gang members had sympathetic looks on their faces as the Panda King recounted his tale. However, none looked more upset then Sly. He glanced at Duncan, then turned back to the Panda King.

"Listen, speaking as someone who is a parent and had to watch their own parent….you know, I know the pain that you are going through and would be happy to help you rescue her," Sly said in a rare moment of maturity.

"So if you help me save Jing King, then in exchange-" The Panda King said, only for Sly to stop him.

"There is no 'in exchange', this is just something we are doing to help out another parent," Sly explained.

"Very well then. Come, I will show the village that she is being held in," The Panda King said.

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

"We all know that our objective here is to retrieve the Panda King's daughter, Jing King. She's being kept against her will by this man, General Tsao. A real asshole, this guy. During surveillance, I actually witnessed him kick a puppy, _twice_!"

"The monster! Who would do that?!" Duncan asked.

"He plans on forcing Jing King to marry him next Saturday. Clearly, time is of the essence. Here's the plan: First, I'll approach Tsao in disguise and attempt to get hired as his wedding planner. Hopefully, with a man on the inside, we'll get some news on Jing King. Still, we need more information! Two of us will need to work together to steal a pair of twin keys and break into Tsao's house of business. Once inside, I'll need to utilize some new technology to circumvent their ultra-tight security. We can't leave anything under chance here, or Jing King lives unhappily ever after,"

"End the!" Scruffy joked. **(The end!)**. Duncan replied by flicking his pet across the room. He crawled back onto Duncan's shoulder and glared at him. Duncan just replied by smiling and trying to ignore the adults(Minus the Guru, who just looked confused) who all thought it was funniest thing ever and had burst into laughter.

* * *

 **Job 2- Grapple-Cam Break-In**

"Okay, General Tsao's center of business is protected with a special double padlock. If we can get inside, and past all the security, we should have access to the purchase records for the wedding," Bentley explained to Duncan once they met up.

"So what are we waiting for?" Duncan asked. "Let's go,"

"I'm afraid it's not that simple. The keys are designed with a self-destruct feature and the guards carrying them are in constant radio contact," Bentley explained.

"Oh, so if I get one, the other will have been blown up before I can even move," Duncan realized.

"That's right. We need to steal the keys almost simultaneously. Since you're better at this than me, I should probably go first," Bentley said.

"Okay, I'll get behind the other guy and I'll let know when to go," Duncan said as he made his way behind the guard with the other key, turning invisible just to stay safe. "Okay, I'm ready,"

"I've got the first key! Go for the second before the guards call in!" Bentley ordered. Duncan quickly grabbed his own key and made a break for it.

"Excellent, the key's intact! Let's meet in front of the General's statue for the hand-off," Bentley said.

"Roger that," Duncan said as he made his way over to the statue. In his mind, Duncan was already coming up with ways to destroy it or vandalize it. Bentley was waiting for him already and Duncan handed the key over.

"Nice work. With this second key and my Grapple-Cam, I'm all set up for the inner office," Bentley said.

"Are you sure you don't need me in their with you?" Duncan asked.

"I'm afraid this is a problem only technology can solve," Bentley said.

"Okay then...have fun with your...technology," Duncan said as he made his way back to the safehouse.

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

"The operation is running smoothly. With access to General Tsao's database, and Sly successfully hired as the wedding photographer, we're ready to make an attempt for Jing King. Given the complexity of Tsao's downloaded data, I programmed my computer to automatically analyze the—what the? G-General Tsao! He's... he's got my computer! Our whole plan is on that computer! How did he find us?! We're doomed!" Bentley panicked. Duncan just shoved a paper bag into his mouth, which he quickly started breathing into.

"Bentley, calm down! I need you sharp. Listen up, team, this Tsao character is more clever than any of us thought. As of this moment, we have one goal: steal back the ThiefNet computer. The time for subtlety is over. Bentley, break into the palace and ransack his personal computer. He might have linked it to ours. If so, that's where we'll start. The rest of the team will stand ready. No telling where this might take us," Sly ordered as he took over.

* * *

 **Job 3: Laptop Retrieval**

"General Tsao's computer has to be around here somewhere... no need to be sneaky. Let's just get the job done," Sly said as Bentley rolled up to him and Duncan.

"Understood, I'm heading in," Bentley replied as he headed inside. A few minutes later, he radioed the,. "A-ha, I think I've found something. His diary mentions a secret passage through the prayer bell... then a 'walk across the heavens.' You getting this, Sly?"

"We're en route to the bell right now," Sly said as he and Duncan ran towards the bell.

"Better bring along the Guru. This sounds like his department," Bentley said. After making a quick detour to pick up the Guru, Duncan and Sly reached the bell.

"It says here to stand under the bell. I'll need to set off the transfer sequence from here," Bentley explained. As soon as all three of them stood under the bell, they were on top of a high cliff.

"I'm beginning to think that Tsao doesn't just have an army," Duncan said.

" _This was most certainly black magic_ ," The Guru agreed.

"Moving on, got any ideas about that 'walk across the heavens' thing?" Sly asked the Guru.

" _I believe I have an idea_ ," The Guru said as he used his magic to levitate a nearby guard.

"That's amazing!" Duncan marverled.

"Also and humiliating really the for guards," Scruffy added. **(And also really humiliating for the guards)**

" _Sly Cooper, I will need to ride on your back in order to keep the levitation going. I can keep one or two going behind us for Duncan Cooper, but I could only raise one ahead at a time,_ " The Guru explained.

"Of course! If you need to ride on my back to keep the levitation going, be my guest... I'm not a big fan of falling to my death," Sly said. He knelt down and the Guru jumped onto his back and the group started their trek across. After a few minutes of jumping they had reached a mountain with a crawlspace.

" _I'm afraid I won't be able to join you. I require rest_ ," The Guru said.

"No problem. Wait here and rest. I think we can handle Tsao," Duncan said as he and Sly crawled through the crawlspace. On the other side was a forest of bamboo with a mist covering the tops. Duncan and Sly each spire jumped onto one, just before Tsao came out.

"Ah, the famous Sly Cooper and his son, Duncan Cooper. It seems you and your little gang were able to follow the trail I left for you. Of course, you'll be helpless without them, as you'll soon discover," Tsao taunted.

"We're not ashamed to rely on our friends," Duncan replied.

"Who needs friends when you can have servants? Who needs affection when you can have obedience? Ah, why try to convince you when I can simply destroy you? This sacred forest has been the stage for hundreds of battles, as my ancestors crushed _anyone_ who got in their way, and you will be no different," Tsao ranted.

"Bentley, are you hearing this? What's he talking about?" Sly asked.

"I've heard of these types of battlegrounds before. The energy from all the fighting that has gone on before strengthens the combatants, allowing them to soar for long distances. You should be able to fly all the way across the arena with one jump! Plus, you can probably change directions in the air with your double jump," Bentley explained.

"Awesome!" Duncan cheered.

" Enough chit-chat, Coopers! Face me now, and prepare for the end of your legacy," Tsao said before leaping towards them, shield at the ready. However, as good as he may have been, it was still two against one and Tsao was knocked into the forest below, laughing.

"Get back here and take your beating like a man!" Duncan said as he and Sly jumped after him.

"Well done, esteemed wedding photographer. I'm impressed you've lasted this long," Tsao.

"You never would have learned that if you hadn't taken the laptop," Duncan taunted.

"Stop this, Tsao. Release Jing King and this fight can end," Sly offered.

"No! Jing King is mine. Once our bloodlines cross, it shall be glorious. The Panda King, in his day, was magnificent. With the Tsao name, a new generation of Kings will be unstoppable!" Tsao explained. Duncan cringed at what he was implying.

"But she doesn't want to marry you!" Duncan pointed out.

"She's a woman! She doesn't know up from down! Once I 'convinced' her father to take up meditation, she was ripe for the picking," Tsao said.

"I can't wait for you and mom to meet," Duncan snarked.

"The cop?! The best she could manage would be to kiss my feet!" Tsao replied, not realized that he had just royally pissed off both of his opponents even more then they already were.

"I've faced a lot of bad men in my time, but you sir, are the worst," Sly hissed as he and Duncan pulled out their canes.

"Oh, it gets worse, Cooper. Up until now, I've gone easy on you... but now, now you'll sample the ancient black arts of the family Tsao!" Tsao said as he pulled out his shield. Once again, he put up a good fight, but the two Cooper's defeated him.

"Now whose bloodline is stronger?" Duncan bragged as he flexed.

"You're not even a real Cooper!" Tsao replied as he stood up. "I don't know why Sly even took a weakling like you in!" Duncan was about to reply, Sly beat to him to it.

"He may not share our blood, but Duncan is a true Cooper," Sly countered. Behind him, Duncan smiled. Tsao growled

"You have won this battle, but the war rages on! Take your foolish computer. It won't help you. Jing King is mine," Tsao said as he tossed the computer to Sly.

"Jing King is a person, not property. And sorry pal, but we're ending this right now," Sly said. Tsao just threw a smoke bomb down and made his escape.

"Beware... beware the power of Tsao!" He said.

"Coward!" Duncan called after him.

* * *

"Thankfully, we've managed to retrieve the ThiefNet computer. However, all of the plans stored inside are now compromised! The wedding is still on; Jing King remains Tsao's prisoner. Yes, we are going to free her, but that's not enough. No, for this heist we really need to put the screws to this guy. He's earned it. So we're cleaning out his treasury as well, a feat impossible without Murray's van. Unfortunately, Tsao sabotaged it by ruining the polycellular battery. I'll need Duncan's help to acquire a new one, which won't be easy, as the General's gone all out with security. He's even resorted to black magic dragons and hopping vampires patrolling the streets. We'll need to even the odds before the wedding. Sly, you and the Panda King will work to gather some fireworks and blow up the vampires' crypt. No crypt, no more vampires," Bentley said after he had finished making sure that everything on the computer was still working perfectly.

* * *

 **Job 4: A Battery of Peril**

"Is the battery complete?" Duncan asked as he met up with Bentley.

"Yes, it just needs to be charged," Bentley explained.

"Do you have a charger?" Duncan asked.

"Carmelita is in the area. All you need to do is have her hit a few times with her shock pistol," Bentley explained. "Since Sly is busy helping the Panda King, I figured you'd be the next best person to speak her,"

"On it!" Duncan said as he strapped the battery to his back. It didn't take him too long find her. But, in an attempt to surprise her, Duncan ended up slipping and falling face first into the snow.

"What are you doing" Carmelita asked between laughs.

"Making snow angels," Duncan lied as he pulled himself out of the snow. "I actually need you to help power this battery. Uncle Bentley said for you to hit it with your shock pistol a few times,"

"I think I can help you with that. My aim have been getting better with all of Tsao's guards. They all seem to share his stance on women and what they are good for," Carmelita explained.

"You shoulda heard what he said about you," Duncan said as placed the battery against the wall, allowing Carmelita to shoot at it without knocking it over. "Something about you only being good to kiss his feet," The next blast came out a bit harder then last ones.

"I can't wait to arrest him. The look on his face when he sees that a _female_ officer will be great," Carmelita said as she finished filling up the battery.

"I wouldn't miss that for the world," Duncan said as he slung the battery back over his shoulder. "Later, mom!"

"The battery is fully charged. Plug it into one of the mainline outlets to stabilize it, then we'll attach it to the van," Bentley explained.

"Got it!" Duncan said. It didn't take him to long to find one and even less time to get back to the safehouse with it.

"Excellent! The van is ready to go!" Bentley exclaimed.

"You rock, Duncan!" Murray cheered.

* * *

"Time to free Jing King, rob General Tsao blind, and send him up the river! I call it "Operation: Wedding Crasher." This will be a multi-pronged job, with two groups working simultaneously. I'm sure I don't need to stress the importance of the schedule to anyone. First, Sly, Penelope and Murray will make their way past all the security in Tsao's Treasure Temple and then drop the goods off to me for loading into the van. Meanwhile, the Panda King and Guru will tunnel beneath the palace, creating an escape route for Jing King. Then, with the girl and loot in hand, we run for it!" Bentley said with another slideshow. Everyone was excited to bring Tsao down.

* * *

"I'm not even surprised at this point," Duncan deadpanned as he watched the scene before him. Murray thought it would be a good idea to belly flop into Tsao's _very old_ wooden vault, destroying it and bringing the temple it was in down with it. In a rage, Tsao had summoned a dragon which had kidnapped Penelope.

"No! Let go of me!" Penelope begged.

"Penelope!" Bentley panicked.

"Ha-ha! The Tsao line is master in this place! Hear me, Coopers? My lineage surpasses yours in every way!" Tsao bragged to Sly and Duncan.

"It's not about the family name, pal," Sly began.

"It's what you do with it!" Dunan finished as he and Sly shared a fist bump. Sly then ran over to some fireworks and launched himself up to the dragon.

"You Coopers will pay for your-!" Tsao began, only for a blast from Carmelita to hit him in the back.

" _Thank_ you!" Duncan said. "I was getting sick of hearing him talk!"

"My pleasure," Carmelita said as she handcuffed him before stepping on his head. "Who's the foot kisser now?" Tsao just growled as he slammed his face into the snow. By this point, Sly had saved Penelope and Murray and the Panda King had finished loading the loot into the van.

"Jump in quick and we're outta here!" Murray ordered.

* * *

 **And that's another episode down! General Tsao is one of my favorite love-to-hate villains. He was so evil that beating him down was a blast. Sadly, the level itself was pretty bland and same goes for the missions. The only ones I remembered where the ones that dealt with fighting Tsao and where Murray had to save the van. That's it. As for the Panda King, I loved him in Sly one and I loved him here. The idea that he was a father added to his tragicness. Anyways, I think I'll keep next time a secret. See ya!**


	32. Dead Men Tell No Tales

**Shadow Joestar- They aren't ready yet**

 **You didn't think just because I had left out Dimitri, we wouldn't have this chapter did you? I have a plan to make this work. Keep in mind that the gang nows owes Muggshot a favor and, well, he's cashing in.**

* * *

The message came in one late Saturday night. Muggshot wanted the favor the gang owed him. Or rather, Mz. Ruby wanted it this time. She had booked a private cruise for the whole gang and Carmelita to Blood Bath Bay. It was a real-life pirate town. Admittedly, Duncan had been wanting to go for sometime, but the main reason was to help Mz. Ruby out. Her grandfather, known only as The Ruby, used a special stone allowing a voodoo user to find anything you needed under the water and stay under for as long as you needed. He used this to loot dozens of undersea wrecks. However, a young pirate called Black Spot Pete stole all of the loot, along with the stone, causing said grandfather to settle down and start a family. Mz. Ruby admitted that she had loved hearing the stories about the stone. She also offered her services to the gang if they could help her find the stone. The idea of an extra mystic and a frogwomen peaked everyone in the gang's interests and Bentley revealed that would make the Cooper Vault Job much easier.

* * *

After Sly had returned from his insult contest with Black Spot Pete, Bentley had taken the information and made yet another slideshow.

"Thanks to Black Spot Pete, we've got a lead on The Ruby's Treasure. It's buried somewhere on Dagger Island, a landmass many leagues from our current position. To make the voyage, we'll need to steal a pirate ship from the harbor. No easy feat given the cutthroat nature of these... cutthroats. First, Murray, Carmelita and Duncan will steal a jollyboat and blast the rudders off any ships that could chase us out into the open ocean. The action is sure to provoke the harbor patrol, so be prepared for a sea battle. With them out of the way, no one can stop us from leaving harbor. Meanwhile, Penelope and I will work together to break into Captain LeFwee's keep and steal the map to the buried treasure. Once both objectives are reached, we'll steal a ship and set sail for Dagger Island. Then, it'll be a simple matter of following the map and digging up the loot," Bentley explained.

"Do you actually need Penelope or do you just want to spend time with her?" Sly asked, causing both geniuses to start blushing.

"I think it's both," Duncan laughed.

"Shut up, both of you!" Bentley and Penelope snapped at the same time, causing everyone to start laughing.

* * *

 **Job 1: Jollyboat of Destruction**

"So what's the plan here Uncle Bentley?" Duncan asked once Murray rowed the jollyboat he had just unlocked in the harbor.

"You'll need to take out the rudders on all the ships, along with any harbor patrol you run into. Murray rows, Duncan mans the cannon and Carmelita will give extra support with her shock pistol," Bentley explained.

"Let's do this!" Duncan cheered. He had always wanted to be a pirate.

"I could use the practice," Carmelita said as she twirled her shock pistol.

"There's the first rudder!" Murray said as he pointed at said rudder, Duncan quickly turned the cannon around and blasted it to bits.

"Nice work guys. You're really working as a team. That boat's not setting sail anytime soon," Bentley said.

"Alright!" Murray said as the group began to share high fives. They quickly took out the next three rudders, leaving only the ship the gang was planning to steal with a rudder.

"You guys are doing great, but it's time to bump it up a notch. The harbor patrol has arrived!" Bentley warned as several boats headed out.

"I don't think the cannon is gonna work," Duncan said.

"You're right Duncan, Murray needs to ram them with your jollyboat to knock off the armor," Bentley explained.

"Alright! I'm tired of dodging cannonballs, time to crack some skulls, jollyboat style!" Murray declared.

"Once Murray has knocked off the armor, you'll need to sink 'em with a well-placed cannonball or shock pistol blast," Bentley added.

"Run in fear, harbor patrol sissies! I'm gonna ram you into next week. Yarrgh!" Murray announced as he rammed into a boat, which Duncan quickly sank.

"Wouldn't it be row in fear?" Duncan asked.

"Stop confusing me!" Murray said, causing Duncan to laugh a little. The group was able to quickly take out the rest of the harbor patrol with ease.

"Alright! The team of excellence, Murray, his faithful gunner Duncan, and his….shock pistoler Carmelita kick butt yet again!" Murray bragged.

"Uhh, sorry guys... I wasn't aware the harbor patrol had a cutter. You're not done yet. Gads! That thing is massive!" Bentley said.

"Everything has a weak point. Look at that mast. They've been patching it up for a while now," Carmelita pointed out.

"Carmelita's right. That mast will fall before our combined mightatude! No matter how many cannons they bring to bear, we will bear it!" Murray bragged.

"Not to sound like a wimp, but I vote we _dodge_ their cannonballs," Duncan hastily added.

"Or we can dodge, that works too," Murray replied. With the combined strengths of Duncan's cannonballs and Carmelita's shock pistol, the cutter was quickly sunk.

"Team Excellence does it again! Nice shooting, sidekicks," Murray said.

"You're our sidekick, uncle Murray, but nice rowing job!" Duncan responded.

"Let's get back before more of these pirates come for us," Carmelita said. Duncan then spotted a pirate hat floating in the water, He grabbed it with his cane, ringed it out, then put it on.

"How do I look?" Duncan asked.

"Like a real seadog!" Murray said, causing Duncan to smile.

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

 **Job 2: X Marks the Spot**

"OK, time for the main event," Bentley said to Sly and Duncan once they had reached the waypoint.

"I've been looking forward to this. Every thief dreams of one day stealing a pirate ship. I don't know what it is, but it's like a total rite of passage. This is gonna be great!" Sly said excitedly. Duncan was practically foaming at the mouth at the idea. He hadn't taken off his new hat yet either.

"As you'll be the first on board, you might want to keep your enthusiasm quiet. If the night watch detects you, this whole place is going to get lit up with guards. The rest of the team won't stand a chance," Bentley said.

"Come on, pal! This is us you're talking to. We're like fourth-degree black belts at this kind of stuff," Sly said.

"Murray'll meet you at the jollyboat, but remember: keep it quiet," Bentley ordered.

"O...K...!" Duncan whisper-yelled. At the boat, the first thing the group noticed was that their were mines in the water.

"Looks like they mined the harbor after your last boat trip. Must've really spooked these guys," Sly noticed. Even with the mines, it didn't take Murray to long to reach the boat the group was going to steal. Duncan and Sly climbed up the anchor chain. There were a few flashlight guards on board.

"Take these guys out, and keep it quiet," Bentley ordered. This wasn't too hard. Both Sly and Duncan knew Silent Obliteration very well and Duncan would pull out his invisibility trick if the guard turned around at the wrong time. Soon all the guards were down.

"All clear!" Duncan called down to Murray.

"Roger! I'll start rowing people over," Murray replied.

"You may also want to bring the guards back to sure, let them think they got a bit too drunk," Sly added.

"Got it!" Murray replied. The three boys set up a system, whenever Murray brought someone over, Duncan and Sly would help them up and send down an unconscious guard which Murray brought back to sure.

"That everyone is?" Scruffy asked when Penelope came aboard and headed below deck. **(Is that everyone?)**

"Yeah, the rest of the gang is below deck. Let's fire this puppy up!" Murray announced as he came aboard.

"Once we raise the sails and get underway, it won't be long before someone on shore raises an alarm," Bentley warned.

"We wasted that harbor patrol. The coast is clear!" Duncan pointed out.

"You guys did a great job, but they still have cannons mounted up in Skull Keep. I figure it's long odds they get gun crews into position before we're out of range, but it's worth mentioning," Bentley revealed.

"You and until waited to now us tell that?!" Scruffy asked. **(And you waited until now to tell us that!?)**

"Then let's make full sail for the mouth of the harbor. If you guys are ready, I say we do it now. Every second we dilly-dally just puts us at more risk," Sly ordered.

"Agreed," Bentley said.

"Murray, take up the anchor. Bentley, get down below deck and adjust the ballast. Duncan and I'll hoist the sails and get this thing moving," Sly ordered. Duncan instantly started scaling up the mast to let the flags fly before heading below deck.

"Is this rum?" Carmelita asked as she pulled out what looked like a bottle of the stuff.

"Now we are real pirates!" Duncan declared as he raced his cane into the sky.

"Okay, then Mr. real pirate! You still don't get any," Carmelita replied bluntly. She knew exactly what her son was up too.

"Oh come on!" Duncan replied, grumply crossing his arms. He decided to just wander around the bottom of the ship to see if he found anything cool. Some gold, jewelry, a case of root beer(which Duncan was not only shocked to find, but he also downed one. He knew it was as close to real liquor as he was getting), a compass, a gold rimmed telescope and a few jewels. While searching a chest to put everything in, Duncan found Penelope looking over one of the framed maps. When he tapped her on the shoulder, she jumped, but calmed down when she saw it was just him.

"Why are you and Sly so good at sneaking up on people?" She asked.

"Master thief, kinda comes with the job description," Duncan replied. "You'll adjust,"

"I hope so…" Penelope trailed off. Duncan could tell something was wrong. Reading people was a rather underrated Cooper skill. He just needed to come up with a way to approach this.

"Something wrong is?" Scruffy asked. **(Is something wrong)**

Or Scruffy could blurt it out. That worked too.

Penelope seemed a little surprised at the rather blunt question, but answered with a sigh. "After seeing what Bentley could do over the past few weeks, I've just been thinking about what could he could have done if he hadn't become a thief with your father," Duncan quickly knew what to say.

"Listen, I think you are thinking about this the wrong way. I don't what plans you and him would have done beyond making out, but I think thief works actually gives uncle Bentley _more_ things to do with his skills. As a thief, you aren't bound by things like laws. The sky's the limit," Duncan replied. Penelope thought about that before she smiled.

"I guess I never really looked at it like that and-," Penelope began before realized exactly what Duncan had said. "Wait what do you mean 'making out'?"

"Can everyone it see," Scruffy said. **(Everyone can see it)**. Duncan just flicked him across the room again and gave the biggest shit-eating grin he could muster as Penelope blushed and glared him down.

* * *

"Whoa!" Duncan said as everyone finished digging up the treasure chest. Mz. Ruby gleefully opened it. Inside was a bunch of loot and strange looking stone.

"Grandpa's stone! I can feel the voodoo vibes coming off of it!" Mz. Ruby said as she grabbed the stone

"What else is in this chest?" Sly asked.

"Aye, let's get a good look!" A voice said from behind. It was Captain LeFwee! And he had his pistol aimed at Penelope's back! "Avast, lubbers! Didn't think ye could steal from the smartest man on the Seven Seas and not taste the repercussions! Har, har, har! I might have been late for the opening of the chest, but I'm just on time for the stealing of the gold!"

"Let Penelope go. We can work out a deal," Carmelita said as she held up her own shock pistol.

"Penelope be the lass's name? Purdy as a sonnet, and what a rich, sweet scent from the wench's hair," LeFwee said as he sniffed Penelope's hair.

"Creep," Duncan said bluntly.

"Let's thump this chump!" Murray said as he, the Panda King, Sly, Duncan, and Carmelita got ready for a fight.

"No! He'll hurt her. This guy's a killer," Bentley said.

"Aye, ye summed me up with but a word... killer. Away with ye, back to your ship. This gold is mine now, or her death is yours... take yer choice," LeFwee warned.

"Guys, we don't have any options here. Everyone back to the ship," Sly ordered.

"You can't just abandon me! Help, please! I'm so scared," Penelope begged. Duncan felt his heart sink. It was the same feeling when Sly, Murray and Carmelita were captured by Neyla and the Contessa. Just the thought of the two them hurt him more and made his blood. He was going to make LeFwee _pay_! If there wasn't a gun to Penelope's back, there would be darts in LeFwee and his men's skulls right now.

"Penelope, do what he says. Stay alive. We will save you," Bentley assured her.

"No Cooper Gang member is left behind," Duncan added. Penelope gave a small smile.

"I... I trust you," She said.

"And I trust ya still plan on luggin' back to yer ship. Away with ye, _now!_ " LeFwee ordered.

* * *

"Clearly, the only goal at this point is saving our teammate and friend, Penelope," Bentley began another of his trademark slideshows, only for Duncan to jump in.

"You forgot your love interest," Duncan joked, causing laughter.

"Shut up, Duncan! Anyways, LeFwee's ship, the _Death's Head_ , has sailed back to Blood Bath Bay with her on board as captive. Things look grim. There's no way we'll be able to sneak into the harbor. Even the backside of the island is inaccessible due to reefs. To put it plainly: we're in for a fight. LeFwee is an intelligent opponent, and we'll need to do everything in our power to stack the odds in our favor. First, we'll put Mz. Ruby's new diving stone to use by salvaging some weapons from a nearby shipwreck. We'll need the extra firepower to deal any kind of damage to the armor-enforced _Death's Head_. It'll also come in handy for our second objective: destroying the Red Sail Sea Dog Clan. They're a fleet of mercenaries on LeFwee's books. We need to surprise them now while they hunt us in small groups. If they ever attacked in unison, there's no way we'd make it out alive. And finally, we'll set sail for the misty waters inhabited by a sea monster the pirates call "Crusher." Reports on Crusher are sketchy, but we might learn something by analyzing its technique. I know for a fact that all of LeFwee's men fear it. An impressive and useful trait given our current situation," Bentley explained.

* * *

 **Job 3: Crusher From the Depths**

"What the-?!" Duncan screamed out as a giant tentacle slammed onto the ship, destroying the masts.

"Monster sea!" Scruffy panicked as he dove under Duncan's hat and poked his head out. **(Sea monster)**

"The sea monster is upon us! Go below deck and placate the others. I will confront this creature with my firework artistry!" The Panda King ordered.

"Give a shout if you need any back up. We'll stand ready," Sly said as he and Duncan headed below deck. Despite Crusher's best attempts, the Panda King was able to keep him at bay. However, he ran out of fireworks and called for Duncan and Sly.

"Protect the vessel while I go below and hurriedly craft more fireworks," The Panda King said.

"Getting hit with all those fireworks has gotta hurt! What more could Crusher do?" Duncan asked before flinching. He had just tempted fate. Sure enough, Crusher rose out of the sea, all tentacles at the ready.

"I'd say about another 100 feet and a dozen tentacles... just a rough guess," Bentley said from the binocucom.

"What can we do to hurt this guy?" Sly asked as he dodged a tentacle strike.

"The squid's eye is out of range. Draw him in close and then blast away! Got an idea. Whack the tentacles while they're attached to the ship. The suction cups on the bottom will get stuck, and maybe he'll have to come in and pull 'em off," Bentley explained.

"Got it!" Duncan said. Sure enough, after they got enough tentacles stuck to the ship, Crusher moved in closer, allowing Duncan and Sly to blast him with the cannons on the ship. Finally they had beaten him and the rest of the gang came out.

"A grand battle that was! Worthy of the names King and Cooper!" The Panda King said.

"Definitely," Duncan agreed.

"Say, Guru, could you get inside this creature's mind?" Bentley asked the Guru.

" _I believe I could gain control of this magnificent creature and have him come to Blood Bath Bay to assist us in defeating the Captain_ ," The Guru explained.

"That's a brilliant idea, but are you sure you can pull it off?" Bentley asked.

" _I think I should be able to, but it will require me to spend some time bonding with the beast_ ," The Guru said.

"Then let's do it. Just take any precautions you can," Bentley said.

"Everyone back up!" Carmelita warned.

" _Creature of the depths! I call to you for your assistance_ ," The Guru said. After a few minutes, Crusher roared and grabbed the Guru, returning to the depths

"I hope that was good," Duncan said.

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

 **Job 4: Battle on the High Seas**

"We're closing in on one of the Red Sail Sea Dog Clan. Beat to quarters!" Bentley ordered. Everyone other then Duncan, Sly, Murray, and Carmelita headed below deck.

"Okay, so Murray steers and Duncan, Carmelita and I will defeat the pirates!" Sly ordered.

"You got it dad!" Duncan said. They fired before the pirates could notice them and quickly destroyed the mast.

"To arms! Their mast is down! Ram our ship into theirs and jump onto the enemy's vessel," Bentley ordered. Duncan jumped on board and battled the captain, while Carmelita and Sly took down any crewmates that tried to ambush Duncan. Within a few minutes, the captain was down, the loot was taken, and the ship was at the bottom of the sea. This pattern repeated as they found more members of the group. Soon all the Red Sail Sea Dog Clan ships were at the bottom of the ocean and Sly, Carmelita and Murray had pirate hats of their own.(It was Sly's idea)

"That's the last of the Red Sail Sea Dog Clan. With them out of the way we won't have to worry about a surprise attack or fight impossible odds when we raid Blood Bath Bay," Bentley said.

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

Operation: Reverse Double-Cross! Our goal, as we all know, is to save Penelope. Given her crafty nature, LeFwee has undoubtedly locked her up in one of his most secure locations. They are, one, the Skull Keep, and two, the brig of the _Death's Head_. Our team is too small to assault both simultaneously, so we'll have to fall back on a little sleight of hand. First, we sail in and exchange broadsides with the _Death's Head_. Armed with the element of surprise and our cannon upgrades, it should be a fair fight. But remember, Penelope might be on board, so we cannot sink this ship. Once the masts fall, Sly should jump onto the enemy vessel and then promptly surrender. A necessary step for two reasons. First, that boat is packed with pirates: way too many to fight hand to hand. And second, it's the best way to get an audience with LeFwee. Given his smug nature, he's sure to brag where she's hidden if we can get him angry enough. Got that, Sly? Irritate the daylights out of this guy. It's our best and only chance to rescue Penelope. Once he talks, we roll out plan A or B depending on the situation. This LeFwee is a smart man. Our only hope is to outsmart him at his own game," Bentley said. Duncan secretly had a plan of his own. Once, they had Penelope, he was going to make sure LeFwee went down, even if it wasn't him that fought him.

* * *

"Why does something always go wrong!?" Duncan whined. LeFwee had tricked them by making them think Penelope was in Skull Keep. Instead, they found a bomb. Thankfully, Sly had managed to get clear. Bentley had managed to get close enough to the open water for the Guru and Crusher. Even with him being on the jollyboat with Murray, Duncan could hear Lefwee's fear through Bentley's binocucom.

"Music to my ears," Duncan said as he leaned back. He knew Bentley was probably freeing Penelope. Despite his teasing, Duncan was truly hoping Bentley and Penelope hooked up. They were perfect for each other. Murray had rowed them back to the _Death's Head_ and Duncan had climbed back on deck, just in time to see Bentley free Penelope. The fact she was now wearing a different outfit was a little worrying. But Duncan had other things to care about, like that LeFwee wasn't done yet.

"Call off your squid, or the girl gets it!" He ordered Bentley as he held his sword to Penelope's neck

"Back off, Guru, I'll deal with this guy," Bentley said. Crusher stopped smashing pirates, but stayed in the background.

"Aye, that you have. Set me up ta think I'd outsmarted ya, then fooled me into the deep water with this beast. I tip me hat to ye. Yer the cleverest man I've ever had the pleasure of beatin'" LeFwee admitted as he gave a bow. Suddenly, Sly swooped in. He kicked LeFwee down, but fell into the water.

"Dad! Guru! Get dad! He can't swim!" Duncan said. The fact he couldn't swim while his son and girlfriend could was a major source of embarrassment for Sly.

"Aye, shipmate, but who'll be helpin' yer turtle?" LeFwee asked as he attacked Bentley, who screamed as LeFwee knocked him down. But before he could make the kill, Penelope blocked him with a sword of her own.

"Nobody touches that turtle... but me!" Penelope warned LeFwee.

"Get him, Penelope!" Duncan cheered from the sidelines.

"Me pirate flower finally blooms! Yet ye'd favor this cripple over me? The Smartest Man on the Seven Seas?" LeFwee asked. Duncan wanted to vomit. This guy was crushing on Penelope?! Thankfully, she was interested in someone else.

"Oh I do like smart guys," Penelope admitted. "...and he beat you at your own game. You tell me who's more intelligent,"

"Be still my heart and quick me blade... 'tis time for a duel! You and I'll make the mating dance of death!" LeFwee challenged. The duo headed up to the top of the mast. Despite LeFwee having done this longer, Penelope had a stronger motive to win.

Love

"Smartest man on the Seven Seas!" LeFwee cried out as he was knocked off the mast.

"Was that LeFwee?" Bentley asked. Duncan and Sly had been helping back into his wheelchair.

"Yep and it looks like you have a visitor," Duncan said as he and Sly stepped aside, revealing a blushing Penelope. Bentley started blushing as well.

Within seconds, the gap between them was closed. Their lips were locked.

"It's about time," Was all Duncan could say as he moved over to his parents, who shared a kiss of their own.

* * *

 **Aw! What a cute couple! Until Sly Four(still hate that twist). Anyways, favorite chapter in Sly 3! I** _ **LOVE**_ **pirates and most of the missions(with one exception! I think you all know it!) were a blast. So because I gave my thoughts on both, I thought I would explain why I went with Mz. Ruby over Dimitri. Don't get me wrong, I love both, but Dimitri as a diver was just something I can't picture. Also I kinda set something up for her and Muggshot and I wanted to take it. Anyways, next time, we head for the Cooper vault and take down Dr. M, but there will be a sacrifice. And Duncan is going to change in a way he will never recover from….**


	33. Honor Among Thieves

**Gamelover41592- You are the first person to say you wouldn't have minded the plot twist.**

 **Guest- I am not killing off Scruffy! After what happened in the show, I couldn't hurt Duncan like that.**

 **Matt- He still is human. Memories don't come back until the TD character in question is one year old then the last confirmed age on the show(So for Duncan, it's 20)**

 **Bloodyninja88- Trust me, Penelope is still gonna go missing. Just not of her own free will.**

 **Shadow Joestar- Time for the vault job and something will change about the ending.**

 **So like the moron I am, I realized I never gave my thoughts of Captain LeFwee from last chapter. So here they are now(just pretend it's in the last chapter and no one gets hurt). What a creep! If there was one bad thing about the chapter(other then Dimitri's level), it was this guy. Him hitting on Penelope made me cringe and his boss fight was super annoying because they don't tell you the controls, but also super easy once you figure them out! Super glad he got turned down and eaten by sharks. Anyways time for the real chapter!**

* * *

When Duncan first saw the Cooper Vault up close, he had been blown away. Sure he had seen it from a distance, but it was amazing! It was clear that even without Dr. M's upgrades to the place, it was still a challenge to make it through. With the way the outside of the island looked, Duncan couldn't wait to see the inside of the vault.

Then everything when wrong.

* * *

"Dad!" Duncan cried out. Dr. M had spotted him, Sly and Bentley and after chasing after them for a bit, sicked a giant mutant on them. It managed to grab Bentley, but Sly had freed him only to get caught himself.

"HA!" Dr. M laughed as he pulled out what looked like a dark gun, but with a syringe inside of it. "So _this_ the supposed son I've heard about?! He barely looks like a Cooper, but I think I can fix that. He'll make a great guard!" With that, he fired. Duncan tried to jump out of the way, only for the syringe to hit him in the foot. Suddenly, Duncan was in pain almost all over his body. He passed out with the last thing he saw was Bentley rushing over to him and Carmelita trying to free Sly.

* * *

"Ugh, what happened?" Duncan asked as he woke up. He was in a bed. Sly was next to him, still knocked out. Bentley, Murray, Carmelita, Penelope and Scruffy were watching over him. The pain had mostly gone away, but his lower back felt weird.

"Dr. M injected you with some type of raccoon mutagen," Bentley explained. "All the pain you felt was from your body reshaping itself,"

"Why was my body reshaping itself?" Duncan asked. Then he realized it. Once he had sure he was wearing something, Duncan yanked back the covers.

Sticking out of his boxers was a raccoon tail.

"What the hell?!" Duncan screamed. Then he realized that wasn't the only new change. Scars now covered his body. They were most likely from his body trying to reshape itself. They weren't even cool looking ones like Neyla's claw marks. They just looked...wrong.

"That's not all," Carmelita said nervously. Penelope held up a mirror, letting Duncan see one last change to his body.

A raccoon mask permanently on his face and one of his eyes was now green.

"Is there anyway to change me back?" Duncan asked hopefully.

"Sorry, Duncan. There's really no way to change to you back," Bentley apologized. Duncan just flopped back onto the bed, with an expression that screamed he was done with his life.

"Can you just disown me now so that dad can't see me like this?" Duncan asked.

"Why in the world would you think we would disown you?" Carmelita asked, a little shocked her son would say that.

"Because I'm a freak and no one is going to want to be within twenty feet of me?" Duncan replied completely honestly. Carmelita put a hand on Duncan's shoulder and Scruffy crawled off Penelope's shoulder and onto Duncan's other shoulder.

"Duncan, listen to me. You are not a freak. Sure you look a little different, but if anything you look unique and I think you look more like a Cooper now," Carmelita explained to him. Duncan looked at Penelope, Bentley, Murray. All of them were smiling at him. Carmelita gave him another smile. Scruffy smiled and nuzzled up to him. Finally, Duncan smiled back.

"Huh, I guess I didn't think about it that way. Thanks guys," Duncan said as he gave his mother a hug.

"Can we come in now?" A voice said from outside the room. Duncan instantly recognized the voice and still couldn't believe his eyes when three people walked into the room.

"Buck! Hunter! Maverick!" Duncan cried as he jumped out of bed and nearly knocked his friends to the ground with a hug, which they happily(reluctantly in Hunter's case, but he enjoyed it) returned. "How the heck did you guys get here?"

"Muggshot flew us in when he came. Your mom said you'd need us and I can see why," Hunter explained. Instantly, Duncan became self-conscious again.

"It d-d-oesn't l-look to bad," Maverick said. "It's j-j-just l-like w-w-what you told me, it m-makes y-y-you c-c-cool,"

"Yeah, you're really awesome! The scars could be covered with tattoos, so even those really aren't' a problem," Buck said as he inspected every inch of Duncan's new appearance, getting very touchy in the process.

"Do not want!" Duncan said as he shoved Buck off of him. "I like the tattoo idea though,"

"Not until you are much older!" Carmelita protested.

"Fine!" Duncan whined. "Just wondering, where are the rest of my clothes and cane?"

"Why?" Murray asked.

"I want to go practice before we head into the vault. No way I am missing that!" Duncan revealed.

* * *

"This is even easier then I thought," Duncan marveled as he climbed to the top of the ship's mast. After getting dressed(Carmelita has made a hole in his pants for the tail), Duncan had started to practice all of his old moves. Surprisingly, despite landing or stepping on his tail a few times and falling(thankfully, Maverick could fly), everything came back pretty easy and Duncan was quickly back into his normal groove. He knew that he was changing his outfit around when he got back home. Some of the scars were exposed.

"Not what I was expecting, but you look pretty good," Sly said as he came out on deck. Duncan jumped down to meet him.

"I figured you wouldn't care," Duncan said with a grin as he hugged his father.

"Not for a second," Sly said. Everyone then turned their attention the aerial battle that was going on. Muggshot was blasting Dr. M's goons out of the sky. Despite their best efforts, the Guru and Mz. Ruby failed to get the cane. Now it was Muggshot's turn. Thankfully, he quickly flew back, cane in hand.

"And that's what happens when someone messes with Muggshot's family and friends!" He yelled back at Dr. M. He handed Sly back his cane, then walked over to Mz. Ruby, who quickly gave him a kiss.

"So how do we get up there?" Duncan asked.

"I think I could give ya a lift up," Muggshot offered.

"Alright, let's go," Sly said.

"Are you sure about this, Sly? One more strong hit to the head and your brain will snap!" Bentley warned.

"I don't care! This my legacy we are fighting for! I need to see this!" Sly protested.

"Alright then! Let's go!" Bentley said.

* * *

Muggshot could only fit so many people in his plane. As such, Sly, Duncan, Bentley, Murray and Carmelita went up first.

"Whoa!" Duncan marvaled once they got inside.

"This place is amazing!" Bentley agreed.

"Yeah, it's got to be like at least a hundred years old!" Murray noted.

"I think it's older then that, big guy," Carmelita said.

"Glad you boys are impressed 'cause it looks like Duncan and I'll have to go on from here alone," Sly said sadly.

"Do it, Sly. This place was built for you. We'll hold down the fort here," Bentley said. Duncan and Sly started to jump across

"Not so fast," Carmelita said as she started across the broken bridge, using Cooper techniques.

"How did you-?" Sly started to ask, only for Carmelita to interrupt with a smile.

"When I cam over, I would study the Thievius Raccoonus. The skills have come in handy before," Carmelita admitted.

"Nice mom!" Duncan said. They all jumped onto the first platform on the Cooper Vault.

"Whoa….." Duncan trailed off as he looked around. There was gold and treasure everywhere.

"My ancestors sure knew how to decorate. Nothin' but big piles of gold!" Sly marvaled.

"We're keeping some of this, right?" Duncan asked.

"If we are lucky, we are keeping all of it," Sly assured his son.

"Awesome!" Duncan cheered. "Let's move!" The family moved through the vault, dodging the many obstacles. Sly and Duncan would tell Carmelita some facts about the ancestors as they passed their pictures.

"This place was started by Slytunkhamen II. He built his fortune in the employ of the great pharaohs. That must have been around 1300 BC,"

"Sir Galleth of the Knights of the Cooper Order. Honorable knight and cunning thief,"

"Salim al-Kupar of Arabia. It was said that he had the stealth of 40 thieves,"

"The strongest of the Cooper Clan, Slaigh MacCooper, could break any lock with a single blow,"

"The ninja spire landing was perfected in Feudal Japan by Rioichi Cooper,"

"Henriette "One Eye" Cooper sailed the seas and stole from pirates. Guess we really take after her,"

""Tennessee Kid" Cooper learned to slide along railroad tracks in the old west,"

"Victorian-era London was the stomping grounds for the most gentlemanly thief, Thaddeus Winslow Cooper,"

"Besides being a thief, Otto van Cooper was a great fighter ace and mechanic,"

"Your family has been all over the world!" Carmelita marvaled.

"Every Cooper moves around in order to keep the line fresh," Sly explained. "And keep assassins off our backs," Carmelita laughed at that. Finally the group reached a giant hallway of lasers.

"What is this?" Duncan asked. Sly saw the picture. The head was ripped off, but Sly knew who it was.

"This must be my father's work. How am I supposed to get through this thing? He made this challenge for a move I've never learned... there's nothing like this in the _Thievius Raccoonus_. Come on, dad, help me out here," Sly said.

"Are we supposed to slide across the laser?" Duncan asked as he pointed his cane at a laser running through the corridor. Suddenly, Duncan and Sly both felt something change inside them. Sly leapt onto the laser and slid down it, much like he would any normal rail. Duncan was easily about to replicate the feat. Carmelita on the other hand, was forced to use her jetpack.

"Nice work, dad," Sly said.

"Hey, dad? Do you think your dad-er grandad would be proud of me?" Duncan asked.

"I'm sure he would be proud of both of us," Sly assured his son.

"Thanks dad," Duncan said. Suddenly, they saw something ahead of them.

"This must be the inner sanctum! Wish Bentley and Murray were here for this…" Sly mused.

"Whoa! How'd Thaddeus make a flying machine in the 1800s? Bet this thing still works," Duncan said as he started walking towards it.

"Oh, I'm sure it's operational," Dr. M said as he jumped into the inner sanctum.

"Dr. M, glad you could see all this. I know you've been looking forward to it," Sly said as he and Duncan whipped out their canes.

"Looking forward to all of this... and your death!" Dr. M roared.

"Aren't we supposed to banter a little?" Duncan asked.

"I only talk with my equals, and Bentley said no," Dr. M replied. Despite having his machinery, it was still two Coopers fighting one guy and Dr. M fell quickly.

"I don't know what went down between you and my father, but I'm telling you it's not the same with me and Bentley," Sly said. Dr. M kept trying to sway Bentley to his side, claiming they were equals, but Bentley's friendships proveiled.

"You might be right. He risked his life to defend you," Dr. M admitted.

"I'd do the same for him," Sly admitted.

"In a heartbeat," Duncan added in, vouching for his father.

"Funny... your father was never such a good friend," Dr. M said, almost sadly.

"We're all individuals. I might be a part of all this, a member of the Cooper line, but in the end, I'm just me. Not Henriette, Thaddeus, Slytunkhamen, Rioichi _or_ my father. Just Sly," Sly explained.

"Please! Keep your touchy-feely rhetoric to yourself, I can't stomach it! You Coopers are a bunch of dirty, attention-grubbing thieves! All of you, _thieves!_ But you also happen to be thieves with _weaknesses_!" Dr. M said as he aimed a blast at the newly arriving Carmelita.

"No!" Sly yelled as he took the blast, getting knocked into a wall near some higher platforms.

"SLY/DAD!" Duncan and Carmelita cried. Duncan felt his bloodlust again. Carmelita quickly began shooting Dr. M, knocking him back and an electrically charged cane smack from Duncan sent him falling into the abyss below. With that taken care of, Duncan and Carmelita raced over to Sly.

"Dad, wake up," Duncan begged. Slowly, Sly opened his eyes.

"Sly, are you okay?" Carmelita asked as she helped him to his feet.

"Is that my name? Sly?" Sly asked.

"Nice joke, dad," Duncan laughed nervously.

"Did we adopt him?" Sly asked again. This clued Duncan and Carmelita in. It wasn't a joke.

Sly Cooper remembered nothing about himself or his life.

"No," Duncan said quietly. He and Carmelita were both teary eyed.

"Duncan, Carmelita, Sly! Are you guys okay?" Bentley asked as everyone jumped inside.

"Who are you guys?" Sly asked. Everyone looked confused or worried.

"Duncan, what's going on?" Bentley asked.

"Dad has amnesia!" Duncan blurted out. "Dr. M hit him with a blast and he hit his head on the wall!" The tears were flowing from almost everyone, with only the Panda King and Guru staying stone faced and even they looked sad.

* * *

"Is that all of it?" Duncan asked as the gang finished loading everything onto the pirate ship. Funny, Sly was asleep, but all Duncan wanted was to wake up from what he hoped was a _very_ bad dream.

"That's all of it," Hunter replied. Despite his nasty appearance and actions, even Hunter couldn't throw out an snarky comment at his best friend's predicament. "You got any idea how long his amnesia thing will last?"

"No. The only good thing is that Bentley said it won't last forever and he'll get his memory back," Duncan groaned.

"So he will get it back, but you don't know how long it will take?" Hunter asked.

"Yep," Duncan replied, his tone of voice making it clear he just wanted to be left alone.

"Would you knock it off?!" Hunter snapped. "You know your pop will get his memories back, yet you act like he will never get them back!" Duncan was about to reply back, but he realized Hunter was right. Sly would get his memories back at some point and would he want to see his son just moping around about him?

"Thanks man," Duncan said as he offered Hunter a fist bump, which the wolf gladly took. Despite feeling a bit better about everything, Duncan still spent the return trip home watching over Sly with Carmelita.

* * *

 **This is bleakest ending to a chapter I think I have ever written. Duncan is now half raccoon(plus a few other animals that will be revealed later) and Sly's amnesia is real. However, they were able to save the Cooper Vault loot. So the Cooper Vault level was easily one of my favorite levels in the series and the boss fight with Dr. M was pretty awesome(second favorite final boss in the series, behind Clockwerk), but everything else was either just okay, or outright sucked. Dr. M himself was a pretty cool villain and I would have loved to explore more of his past with Sly's dad and McSweeny. Anyways, next few chapters will show what happens in the time gap in between games 3 and 4.**


	34. Discussions and Discoveries

**Foxchick1- Trust me, no mention will be made until it's time for game 4.**

 **Gamelover41592- Time, attention, and love(Sappy I know)**

 **Shadow Joestar- He was doing pretty well as a normal human and you're jumping ahead quite a bit. The older gang isn't retiring, they're just gonna be on break for a while.**

 **Matt (Guest)- He is 13 as of now, and he will age up at certain points in the time skip. He'll explain what animals he got in this chapters. Sadly, Sly is not faking amnesia. He would also really have no need, he has a son and Carmelita is perfectly fine with his life as a thief.**

 **Bloodyninja88- Bittersweet indeed. But Duncan is gonna keep moving and I dropped a hint at the first bad guys they are going after at the end of this chapter.**

 **This chapter is gonna be kind of a short one. But it's gonna reveal quite a few things about Duncan and the Cooper influence in the criminal world. This takes place a few weeks after the Vault Job. Let's begin.**

* * *

After the Cooper Vault mess, the money had been divided up among the gang for the most part and everyone had headed back to their lives.

Murray headed back east with the Guru(who turned down his share of the money, claiming he didn't need it), in order to finish his training.

The Panda King returned to China and is living two door down from Jing King, who lets him screen all of her future suitors. She's still unmarried as of now.

Mz. Ruby and Muggshot headed for the states, with their son(who Duncan had learned was named DJ, aka Duncan Junior and was flattered)

Using the money from the vault, Carmelita had bought a mansion on the outskirts on the city. She claimed that not only was it big(seeing as Murray would be coming back and Penelope was moving in with the gang), but was also rather well hidden and would give everyone their space. Sure enough, the place was huge. It was mostly just bedrooms, but there was a rather large basement, a kitchen, and a backyard. Bentley and Penelope had already claimed the basement as theirs for a lab and Buck had already been coming up with ideas for some of the bedrooms that weren't claimed. Most were quickly shot down, but the idea of a room with a halfpipe, a movie room, and a video game lounge pleased all the boys. Speaking of the halfpipe, the boys were working with a construction crew in order to tear down some of the walls and ceilings to make room for that. Duncan was going to help, but he had some things he needed to take care of. He walked into his own room and once he had sure no one was looking, shut the door. He had one of the bigger rooms in the house and while the extra size was great, that wasn't the main reason has picked it.

The real reason was a trap door hidden under his desk.

After making sure no one was coming, Duncan had jumped down. He didn't like spending that much time down there. He hadn't fully cleaned it yet and it still reeked of alcohol. But he wasn't keeping beer down there.

This was where he kept his "souvenirs". Various things he had collected from the foes the Cooper Gang had faced in the past. It had started with Arpeggio's monocle and had kinda just grown from there. He had Thompson's tie, Don Octavio's mask, General Tsao's helmet, Captain LeFwee's hat…

And Neyla's whip.

Duncan wasn't even fully sure why he had grabbed that. A day after Murray had left, Duncan had gone back to the lake Clock-La had sunk in and he saw the whip. On a whim, he grabbed it and added into his collection. But today, Duncan needed to clear his thoughts and he knew what he wanted to rant to. He grabbed it out the pile and looked at it.

"Enjoying hell?" Duncan asked the whip, as if Neyla's voice could come out of it. "No? Good, you should be suffering after everything you did, but I came to talk. I know you are just loving this! Dad has amnesia and everyone else is miserable because of it! But….I'm not worried. My dad will remember everything….someday. But if there is one thing I hope he remembers, it's the night you died! Because…" Duncan remembered something Sly had told him back when he was still in training, after he had royally screwed up a move. "Because setbacks can only make you stronger. I mean look at me! I've nearly lost my eye and turned into this freak of nature! But I'm still kicking! So goodbye!" With that, Duncan tossed the whip to the floor and walked off, content with himself and ready to have an indoor halfpipe.

* * *

 **A few days later.**

"What took them so long!?" Hunter ranted as he tossed a newspaper at Duncan's face. Duncan was able to catch in time, but shot Hunter a glare anyways.

"So they finally sentenced Thompson?" Duncan said as he looked over the paper. The boys had just finished the halfpipe and were waiting on parts for the movie room and the video game lounge. The child trafficker had been sentenced to serve 50 life sentences in a maximum security prison. This was all well and good to the boys but it was what Thompson had said about them that surprised them.

"One of them, he was from the Cooper family line but to me, he was something out of my worst nightmares…" Duncan read. A nightmare? Really? He may have just discovered he could roar like a lion and camouflage himself and cling to walls like a chameleon, but calling him a nightmare was a little excessive.

"He had a group of assistants with him. One was a wolf, with an icy look in his eyes. I felt like I was in a graveyard at night from those eyes….." Hunter continued. A graveyard? Seriously? He may have had a cold look in his eyes, but a graveyard at night was a little extreme.

"A-a-a-another, was a g-g-g-griffin, but all I could see was a p-p-p-phoenix…." Maverick read. He wasn't sure why he was being called a phoenix. Maybe if his feathers were bright red, but if anything, he looked like a raven with lion legs.

"The final member was a weasel. He could zip around like lightning and I could barely see his face," Buck finished. He was proud of his description. Unlike his other friends, he's description was completely true.

"So let's be real, he's just trying to save face so he _doesn't_ have to admit he was beaten up by four kids," Hunter pointed out as he rolled his eyes.

"Yep, but seeing this gave me an idea. What if we _go with_ these descriptions?" Duncan offered.

"Huh?" The other three boys asked.

"Think about it! If we play into those themes, we get to look awesome _and_ spite Thompson even more," Duncan explained. Everyone grinned.

"But how are Buck and I supposed to get ice and lightning powers? Unlike you, we can't just get random shots for superpowers," Hunter pointed out.

"You really don't think my uncle could whip something up?" Duncan pointed out. Everyone grinned again.

* * *

In between helping with the movie room and and the video game lounge, the boys had started planning out their new thief personas.

Duncan had switched out his old thief outfit for a black trench coat, which was really soft, to the point where everyone asked if it was made from a blanket, despite Duncan _insisting_ it wasn't(it is, he just won't admit), sneakers, black cut off gloves, and a black bracelet, with only his hat staying the same. The Nightmare Cooper was ready.

Bentley had designed a freeze ray for Hunter, which he quickly found created ice he could easily climb up, as well as melt down in order to avoid leaving traces of himself or his team. The graveyard part was a little harder, but he settled on a hockey mask in order to keep his face hidden. The Gravedigger had been dug up.

Maverick had the easiest time. He had painted flames on his drone and got a bird styled theater half mask. The Fire-Raven was ready for his first flight.

Buck had a stun club made for him by Bentley, which could be turned on and off at will. Even when off, it would pack a punch. As for a mask, Buck had settled on a wrestler mask, similar to Murray's, but his had lightning strikes on it. The Lightning Weasel was ready to strike.

* * *

Once the new weapons and personas were ready, Duncan had jumped right onto Thief-Net to look for a new target. At first things were coming up short.

But one day. Something came up. Something better then Duncan could have ever imagined.

It was time for revenge!

* * *

 **Cliffhanger! Who do you guys think Duncan and Co are going after? I've been getting a lot of requests for one of them, and I threw in two more. Here's a hint, it has to do with family...or lack thereof. Anyways, I'll see you all next time! Peace out!**


	35. Family Matters

**Gamelover41592- It said at one point that he started the idea with Arpeggio' monocle.**

 **Shadow Joestar- Yep, everyone is enjoying their time off, mostly.**

 **Foxchick1- This is gonna be a good one**

 **Bloodyninja88- I came up with that idea because villains trying to save face sometimes makes the hero even stronger. Also, you gave me the idea for said bad guys!**

 **Shocked nobody was able to guess who the boys are going after. Anyways, let's begin.**

* * *

"Yeesh, Hunter, you're shaking like a leaf. I normally expect that from Maverick," Buck said. Sure enough, behind his mask, Hunter was freaking out.

"Hey!" Maverick called out, even if he was just as freaked out.

"Lay _off_ Buck," Duncan ordered sharply as he used his binocucom to look inside of the building, the boys were planning on stealing from. He had to stop for a minute to readjust the clips holding his trench coat up(why he had made it so big confused everyone, _including him_ ) but he quickly recovered them. He was looking for three people, who he quickly found on a balcony.

The first one was a gruff looking wolf. If Hunter looked cruel, this guy was ten times worst. His face was fixed into a permanent scowl and his teeth looked like they could tear through someone's flesh just by smiling. His outfit screamed fake military man, with a cargo vest and cargo pants, along with black boots.

This man was Hunter's former father.

The other two people were griffins, but with eagle color bird halfs. The father lacked pants and shoes, but dressed in a sharp tuxedo. The women was the same way, only with a dress.

These were Maverick's former parents.

Admittedly, Duncan was thinking about just doing this one himself, but he knew this was something Hunter and Maverick needed to be there for. It was their "parents"(and Duncan used that term _very_ loosely) afterall. The threesome had been involved in a drug trade of some kind, but Duncan just wanted them to rot in jail for what they did to Hunter and Maverick. Anyone who hurt someone close to him needed to _pay_.

"So everyone knows the plan, right?" Duncan asked. It was pretty simple. Despite being drug traders, the three former parents didn't seem to have a lot of security. All four kids were going to sneak into the building at various different spots and hopefully catch the parents off guard. Either way, they were still getting a beating. Despite his enthusiasm, Duncan to calm down his two friends first. He decided to start with Maverick.

"Y-y-y-you c-c-can t-t-t-tell, c-c-c-can't y-y-y-you?" Maverick asked he gripped his drone's controller with trembling hands.

"Stuttering you're word every," Scruffy pointed out. **(You're stuttering every word)**

"It's pretty obvious, but listen, you are gonna be fine," Duncan assured his friend. "Buck, Hunter, and I are gonna be right there with you. And I promise they _will_ get what they deserve for what they did to you. At for the record, your feathers make you look like a badass!" Maverick gave his friend a smile.

"Thanks Duncan," Maverick said as he offered Duncan a fist bump, which he happily took. With Maverick pacified, Duncan walked over to Hunter. The wolf was jumpier then Duncan had ever seen anyone, including Maverick and Bentley when he and Penelope went on their first official date(which went _very_ well). He was trying to calm himself down by splashing his face with water from a nearby birdbath.

"Hunter? This is the most nervous I have ever seen you and you're not one to get nervous," Duncan pointed out to his friend. Hunter turned around, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get rid of the tears in his eyes.

"I have every right to be nervous! If we _lose_ or we get _caught_ , I go right back to my dad's punching bag! I don't wanna go back to that! I…...I don't want to lose my family!" Hunter ranted before wrapping himself around Duncan. Duncan rubbed his hand against his friend's back.

"I promise, _no matter what_ , we aren't losing tonight and we aren't breaking up this family. You got that…..brother?" Duncan asked. Hunter just hugged him and Duncan returned the hug. Within a few moments, all four boys were hugging each other. Finally, they broke apart and Hunter grabbed his mask and freeze gun.

"Duncan?"

"Yeah,"

" _Let's do this!_ " Hunter declared as he bared his fangs.

* * *

"What's going on?!" Freddy demanded to a guard that had rushed in. The guard looked up in a fear at the wolf's face.

"S-s-someone's coming for you! There's f-f-four of them and they-!" The guard would have kept going, but the male griffin, Alfred covered his mouth.

"Please, speak slower and don't stutter," Alfred insisted.

"You'll remember us our son, Asblik," His wife, Bella added in.

"Here's an even better reminder!" A voice called out. The three parents moved away just in time for Duncan to appear from behind them. He knocked out the guards. They tried to run, only to find Hunter freezing the door shut. Buck crawled in from a window while Maverick flew in from the ceiling. Despite their masks, the parents could tell who two of the members were.

"Hunter?!" Freddy exclaimed in shock. Hunter just growled.

"Asblik?" Bella and Alfred asked.

"It's Maverick!" Maverick insisted. His parents just chuckled.

"No matter what you change your name to, you'll still be the same stuttering worthless piece of trash you were back when you lived with us," Bella replied. Maverick's stance fell for a few seconds, but he recovered when he saw who was standing next time.

"So what? U-u-unlike you, they think I'm a-a-a-a-awesome!" Maverick fired back.

"And you, Hunter. Finally found the courage in your cowardly bones to come face your pops?" Freddy taunted.

"You were _never_ my father!" Hunter roared. "You were just some abusive asshole who thought he was my father!" This enraged Freddy, who rushed towards his son. The fight had begun! Maverick quickly flew into the rafters of the building and activated his drones, which started firing at any guards that came in. Freddy only focused Hunter, making him his easy pickings for Buck to nail in the back with his stun club. Bella seemed content to hide behind Alfred, who was doing a decent job holding off Duncan, who had been putting his new wall climbing skills to use. When Maverick distracted the couple with his drone, Duncan took his moment and knocked them both out with his cane.

* * *

"Well, that mess is taken care of!" Buck declared as he wiped his hands. After swiping all the of the valuables from the three disgraced parents, the four boys had called up Carmelita(who had thrown herself back into her work) in order to pick up the drug dealers.

"Yeah, no kidding," Duncan said. Maverick and Hunter looked very pleased with themselves.

"So, uh, Duncan, about me calling you guys my family-" Hunter began, but Duncan stopped him.

"I feel the same way," Duncan assured him. This lead to yet another group hug.

"Pizza victory?" Scruffy asked. **(Victory pizza?)**

"Sounds good to me!" Duncan declared as the four boys headed off, laughing. For the first time in nearly two months, Duncan finally felt truly happy.

* * *

 **I swear this is like the 5th cavity I have gotten writing chapter endings for this story! But yeah, the boys are now brothers to each other and none of them would have it any other way. Oh, and they sent Maverick and Hunter's jackass parents off to jail. Next time will be another time skip.**


	36. Super Sixteen

**Bloodyninja88- That's why I said no one guessed who** _ **they**_ **were going to be. You knew Hunter's dad(hell, you gave me the idea for it), but you didn't guess Maverick's parents. But your descriptions of what roles they played in the drug trade sound about right.**

 **Shadow Joestar- Yep, their bond is stronger then ever!**

 **Gamelover41592- They sure deserved it**

 **Time for another age up! Here's the ages of the boys right now**

 **Duncan- 16**

 **Hunter/Maverick- 15**

 **Buck- 13**

 **So I don't know if any of you have caught this, but I'm trying to write the Neo Cooper Gang(yes that's their name) as parallels to a group of villains that will appear in a later story. Here's a hint**

 **Fire**

 **Lightning**

 **Ice**

 **And Loyalty swore to someone who saved them**

 **Let's see if anyone can guess before I get to that story. But if you think you know it, PM, I don't want it spoiled to anyone who didn't get it! Anyways onto the actual story. It's time for Duncan's sixteenth birthday!**

* * *

Duncan smiled as he stepped inside the tattoo parlor. It had taken a lot of begging, but he had finally worn down his parents enough to let him get tattoos over his Dr. M induced scars. Unlike Neyla's mark, _those_ never looked as cool and just made him look like a blotchy mess.

"Are you still sure about this, Duncan?" Sly asked. The raccoon had been slowly yet surely regaining his memories. Sly was actually the first one to wish him a happy super(no _freaking WAY_ Duncan was calling it a sweet sixteen) sixteenth birthday, when the past two years he had to be reminded.

"Yeah, dad. I already have some ideas," Duncan said as he grinned. His name was called and he stepped inside. The two rules that had been laid down on what he couldn't get were "no lower then your waist" and "nothing offensive".

"So what do you want?" The artist asked. Duncan just smiled and took off his shirt.

* * *

"How long does something like this take!?" Hunter snapped. Duncan had been inside for nearly an hour!

"Well, he does have a lot of scars," Buck pointed out. Everyone one just rolled their eyes, even Sly who didn't fully remember where the scars came from.

"Wait, here he comes," Carmelita said. Sure enough, a few seconds later, Duncan stepped out. He had stayed shirtless, showing his family all of his new tattoos. A long black dragon ran down his left arm with his version of the Cooper on his left shoulder. What appeared to be a skull(it's the one from his shirt on the show) was placed on the left side of his stomach. Near his heart was a date, namely, the day of his adoption. Finally, what looked like silver wings covered his back.

"Not bad, D!" Hunter said.

"Yeah, you look great!" Maverick added. He had mostly lost his stuttering problem from continued returns to a speech coach. It only came back if he spoke longer words or sentences.

"Were the Clockwerk wings really needed?" Sly asked. One of the first things he remembered about the gang's adventures was Clockwerk. It had lead to a really awkward moment when he remembered who Scruffy really was and who created him and _not_ why he was currently sitting on his son's shoulder at the moment.

"Hey, I needed something big to cover all the scars on my back!" Duncan protested. He was very grateful that the guy didn't ask many questions and gave him a big tip for it.

"Let's head home. I heard that Mz. Ruby and Muggshot sent you sent something and Murray, Bentley and Penelope have presents for you," Carmelita said.

"So do we!" Hunter replied. Duncan grinned as he left the store, wondering just what was in store for him.

* * *

"You kidding right?" Duncan said in awe as he looked at his first uncle's gift to him. As it turned out, Penelope and Bentley had gotten him a _motorcycle_!

"Nope! We remembered you constantly saying you wanted one when you saw that stunt man on TV," Penelope remained him. Duncan started looking over his new gift. It was a jet black bike with flame designs. He saw that the helmet had the same design and there was a second one. Both of them also had speakers inside. Duncan smiled as he sat behind the handlebars and put his helmet on.

"How do I look?" Duncan asked.

"Like a hawaiian riding a motorcycle!" Buck declared to laughter. As part of his "civilian" life, Duncan had started wearing a hawaiian shirt around, except instead of flowers, it was skulls.

"Oh screw off!" Duncan ordered to more laughter. Once everyone had stopped laughing, Murray had run off and came back with something behind his back.

"So 'The Murray" already knows that despite all of his awesomeness, he has no chance of beating a motorcycle, but I still think I managed to score an awesome gift for my favorite nephew!" Murray announced as he pulled out…

"A _guitar?!_ " Duncan practically screamed. He eagerly grabbed it out his uncle's hands. It was black with a silver skull on it. Duncan quickly slipped it over his shoulder and played a few notes. Once he was finished, he took a bow while everyone clapped for him. Then he pulled everyone in for a group hug. "You guys are the best family _EVER_!"

"I like how he's already said that and we haven't even given him our gift yet," Hunter noted.

"Let's see it then," Duncan said. Maverick flew off and grabbed something. This time, it was a small, gift wrapped box.

"Small kinda to compared others the," Scruffy noted. **(Kinda small compared to the others)** This earned him another flick across the room while Duncan opened the box. When he saw what it was, Duncan covered his mouth as tears came to his eyes.

Inside the box was a picture of the four boys together. It was just after busting Maverick and Hunter's parents, when they were eating pizza. Under the picture was a note.

"Friends by Chance, Brothers by Choice"

Cue other group hug, but with just the boys.

"Stop getting so sappy, crybaby!" Hunter snapped, but everyone could tell he just kidding.

"So looks like I only have one more gift," Duncan said once he had calmed down. Penelope then handed him Mz. Ruby and Muggshot's present. Yet again it was a smaller box. Muggshot had delivered it about a week prior, as he had been flying out to give Hunter pilot lessons, claiming the wolf had "begged" for them(Hunter denied this). Inside the box was a necklace with the eye of Iris on it and a note.

"Dear Duncan and family. We heard it was the little, well, not so little, tyke's birthday. We're gonna be busy(DJ is just troublesome as his namesake and he's about to start Preschool), so the Mz whipped this neck thing up. She claimed that it can "block any sort of magic, voodoo or dark arts". Thought it would a good gift for Duncan.

Later punks! Muggshot"

"Try it on!" Murray urged. Duncan slipped the necklace over his head and slid it down. The chain holding it seemed to resize itself to get past Duncan's shaggy hair. Soon as Duncan let go, it glowed a bit, then stopped.

"I like it!" Duncan declared, causing more laughter. With all the presents, Duncan had thought that his birthday surprises were done for.

Oh how wrong he was.

* * *

 **Later that night**

* * *

Carmelita sighed as she got herself ready for bed. Even though she and Sly shared the bed, they never truly slept together. It was the awkwardness of sleeping so close to a man that barely remembered her that kept them apart.

"Hey, Carmelita?" Sly asked as he stepped into the room. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure thing, Sly," Carmelita said, thinking it was about a memory. She was shocked when Sly instead locked the door. "What are you-?"

"I remember _everything_ about you," Sly replied. "You, Murray, Bentley and Duncan all came back first, but for some reason, you were the first,"

Carmelita found herself lost for words. "Sly….I…..,"

"Our orphanage days, your lovely prom dress, being chased across the Paris skyline, defeating Clockwerk, everything. This got me thinking. _Why?_ I've always been closer to Bentley and Murray, so why did I remember you first?" Sly pondered.

Carmelita had a feeling she knew where this was going and she put her hands on her hips. "You love me, right? Sorry, ringtail, but you've gotten predictable,"

"Maybe, but you did get the reason I wanted to give you this," Sly said as he pulled out a diamond ring. "Now, back to the question….."

* * *

"YYYYYYYYEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSS!"

Carmelita's shriek startled nearly everyone in the house.

"Duncan, could you please explain why your mother just screamed at the top of her lounges?!" Bentley asked once he had finished hyperventilating.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb and say dad just asked her to marry him," Duncan said. Suddenly, everyone in the house was grinning to ear to ear.

* * *

 **SURPRISE! So Duncan's gets one hell of a birthday, on top of his parents getting engaged. Next chapter, naturally, will be Carmelita and Sly's wedding!**


	37. Wedding to Remeber

**Foxchick1- I think everyone agreed with Carmelita**

 **Gamelover41592- He sure did**

 **Shadow Joestar- He kinda has been narrating his parts of the story because it stars him**

 **Matt(Guest)- Indeed**

 **Guest- Don't worry! I just won't say if you are right or wrong in your guest(but you have an actual account, PM that answer and I will tell you)**

 **Bloodyninja88- I have no plans for wedding crashers. Also I'm not saying if you are right or wrong on that guess.**

 **You all know what's about to go down, no sense in delaying the wait. Let's begin.**

* * *

Duncan laid back in his chair. It had been a few months since Sly's proposal to Carmelita and Duncan was insanely excited that his parents were finally getting married for real.

" _I actually forgot mom and dad weren't married. I mean, they act like it!"_ He had joked about a month prior, to much laughter, even from the bride and groom to be themselves.

"Are you ever gonna finish getting dressed?" Bentley asked him as he rolled into the room, dressed in a tuxedo. Duncan was only wearing his dress pants and shirt. He could have put the jacket on, but he was struggling with his tie.

"Yes, but I can't tie this," Duncan said as he gestured to the tie slung across his shoulders.

"Knee down," Bentley ordered.

"Yes master," Duncan joked. Bentley gave him a smile as he held him tie the tie. Duncan then put the jacket on. "How's mom and dad doing?"

"Your father is a nervous wreck right now and your mother couldn't be more excited," Bentley revealed.

"Figured it would have been the other way around," Duncan noted, thinking about how _open_ his father was with his displays of affection and his mother's flustered reactions to them.

"It's normal wedding roles for those two, but I'm sure your mother is just as anxious," Bentley explained.

"I'll understand when I get married," Duncan joked. This time, _both_ of them laughed. Duncan had no interest in women as of right now.

But he felt like that wasn't always the case.

Some nights, he would dream of this girl. She was the same species as him, at least before the mutations. She was really pretty, but Duncan knew this girl was just part of his dreams. At least, he thought she was.

"Let's head in," Duncan said as he and Bentley walked inside the church. It was a smaller wedding. Obviously, Bentley and Murray were the best men(Sly couldn't pick just one) and a close friend of Carmelita's from the police station was her maid of honor(She was also one of the officers that knew about the Cooper Gang's secret work with the cops). The police chief was there, along with a few other other officers who knew about the deal. As for Sly's other guest, it was everyone expected. Duncan, Hunter, Maverick, Buck, Penelope, The Guru, The Panda King and Jing King, Muggshot, Mz. Ruby and DJ(who had already bonded with Duncan). Sly stood at the altar, smiling, but still looking a bit nervous. He gave Duncan a small wave as he took his seat, to which he replied with a thumbs up. Finally, Carmelita walked in.

And Sly's jaw hit the floor.

Carmelita looked utterly stunning. She was wearing a beautiful white dress and her hair was done up in a such a way where if Sly didn't know her, he'd say she was an angel. Finally, she reached him and Sly removed her veil.

"Nervous?" Carmelita asked him.

" _Very_ ," Sly replied with as much tact as he could.

"So am I," Carmelita admitted. "Every couple is," Sly gave his first non-nervous smile of the day. Finally, the minister was ready to start.

"I'm sure, like most of you, this was a couple I would have never expected! Cop and robber. But somehow, in some way, they were able to look past that and become a strong and loving couple. Now, as it turns out, the bride and groom have both come up with their own vows," The minister explained as he turned to Carmelita first. "Ms. Fox, you first," Carmelita smiled.

"Sly, as I'm sure you have known, I was always the cop to your robber. But even way back then, I could feel something….. _else_ for you. I just could never figure out what that was for the longest time. When I first realized what it was, I tried as hard I as could to rid myself of those feelings. But, I realized I just couldn't. I love you, Sly Cooper and that's why I agreed to this," Carmelita said. Then came the claps and Carmelita and Sly could both see tears in nearly everyone's eyes.

"Mr. Cooper, your turn," The minister said.

Sly took a deep breath breath before starting. "I remember when I first laid eyes on you, Carmelita. It was a few days after I had showed up at the orphanage. A few kids started picking on me and you stepped in. You didn't even know me, but you made them stop and comforted me. That was the day I knew I loved you, but everything that came after made me love you even more. Your feisty attitude, your good heart and the fact you could keep up with me. Even when I couldn't remember anything, you stuck my side. While I still don't remember everything, those were some of the first things to come back. That's why I chose to marry you," Sly said. Duncan, Murray and Penelope weren't even hiding their tears anymore.

"If anyone has any reason these two shouldn't be wed, or forever hold your peace," The minister said. Almost everyone turned to the door. Sly and Carmelita had quite a few people who would be out for revenge today, but surprisingly, no one came.

"Huh, was expecting a revenge seeker," Duncan noted as he turned back to face his parents.

"Well then! I now pronounce you man and wife! You may kiss the bride!" The minister declared. Cheers erupted as Sly and Carmelita shared a passionate kiss.

* * *

 **If this series of stories ever gets a TvTropes page and those vows** _ **aren't**_ **some of the first things added, something is** _ **SERIOUSLY**_ **wrong in this world. Anyways, here's some random wedding facts about the marriage**

 **-Buck caught the bouquet of flowers(Because he is just that random)**

 **-Sly and Carmelita did have a honeymoon. They chose Hawaii.**

 **-Murray and Jing King shared a dance and the Panda King were surprisingly okay with it.**

 **-Penelope and Bentley attempted to dance, but it's hard to dance when you can't use your legs.**

 **-DJ kept crawling under the tables to look up the women's dresses. Hunter caught him.**

 **Anyways, after all this sappyness, time to make life f**k with Duncan again. Next time, we are going to have a another heist…..a few days after Duncan's 20th birthday.**


	38. A True Nightmare

**Gamelover41592- And everyone was expecting to go wrong**

 **Shadow Joestar- One more chapter and we will be at Thieves in Time**

 **Matt(Guest)- It's not a villain who attacks him….**

 **So here's the boys ages**

 **Duncan- 20**

 **Hunter/Maverick- 19**

 **Buck- 17**

 **And well, let's just say Duncan is going to have a rough time in this chapter**

* * *

"This may be the easiest heist we have ever pulled," Duncan said as he snuck around the guards. On a tip from the Panda King, both Cooper Gangs had heading into rural China. There were a few special villages that preferred to distance themselves from the outside world and the technology advancements that had come with it. Duncan felt like life couldn't have been better in the four years since his parents got married. Sly had regained all of his memories and got right back into thieving. It was actually Buck's idea to combine the two gangs and to celebrate, they had gone of the Panda King's tip. A bunch of warlords had taken over several small villages while the local protectors were busy. While their armies were impressive, their lack of modern security like spotlight meant it was easy to knock them all out, steal everything, return any family heirlooms to the villagers and get out just in time for Carmelita to show up. Throw in Duncan's creation of an improved invisibility technique(He could now run while invisible)it was almost perfect.

With one glaring problem.

Penelope had gone missing. Her and Bentley had been working on some top secret project that none of the other could know about. Then, one day, she had just vanished. It had been about a month and Bentley was worried sick. Duncan hadn't said much, but he was just as worried. He and grown very close to the mouse in the seven years since she joined the gang and he had been planning to ask if he could call her Aunt Penelope, but she disappeared before he got the chance.

Life was cruel with fate sometimes, wasn't it?

"Here we are," Duncan said as he stepped into the treasure room. The latest and last warlord had taken over an area called the Valley of Peace in the absence of the local protectors. As far as Duncan knew right now, Murray had just smacked some sense into him, literally.

"Much not," Scruffy noted. **(Not much)**. It was true. Most of the artifacts had been cleaned out already, leaving Duncan with roughly a bag's worth of coins.

And that was a bag he was _taking_!

No sooner then after he had kneeled down and started to shovel the loot inside the bag, Duncan heard someone come in behind him. "I don't suppose your here to try and stop me?" He asked. If it was a guard, Duncan knew he could take them.

"That was my plan," The voice was female and _definitely_ not a guard. Now curious to see who's ass was getting kicked, Duncan stood up and turned around.

And nearly dropped his cane.

The girl standing in front of him looked to be about 18 if he had to guess, but she looked like she was the same species as him! But she looked different compared him. Her skin was very pale and her hair was the color of moonlight. She walked barefoot other then footwraps and dressed in what looked like black silk pants and a green Chinese vest with flower patterns.

"W-why the hell do you look like me!?" Duncan demanded. He wanted answers and he wanted them _now_.

"I see you have yet to discover the truth, Duncan, but I will show it you," She told him. Before Duncan could question how she knew his name, she was on him, Scruffy was hiding in the bag of loot and her hand was on his temple.

And the memories came rushing back.

For what felt like hours, Duncan could only watch helpless as memories of a former life returned to him. A life with an emotionally abusive father, a mother that just stood by, several trips to juvie over stupid pranks, a crappy game show, blowing up a mansion of an asshole, jail. Finally, he saw himself, this warrior girl, the girl from his dreams and roughly a dozen or so others looking up at something. Next thing he saw was the thugs cornering him and Sly saving him. In a scared rage, Duncan gripped his cane and swung it at this girl, knocking her off. Now he knew exactly who she was.

"WHY THE HELL DID YOU SHOW ME THAT, DAWN!" Duncan roared as he walked towards her. He was grateful he now knew her name, he could freak her out now.

"I didn't know that is what you would see!" Dawn protested. "I'm sorry you lived that life, Duncan!" Duncan wanted nothing more then to let his rage out on Dawn. He had a happy life, blissfully unaware of how he had lived. Now he could see parallels between his old life and his new one.

Scruffy's name? Name of his old spider that Harold crushed.

Appeared to be asexual? He was dating that girl from his dreams…..Gwen at the time.

His love of his family and freak outs if something happened to them? A subconscious desire to keep a loving family.

Even his new goatee and earring were just like his old life. The only difference was that he had a stubble surrounding the goatee. Duncan raised his cane, but let it clatter to the floor. He couldn't bring himself to hurt Dawn, even as much as he wanted to. Instead he crumbled to the floor, just letting his tears flow. He barely even noticed Scruffy crawl onto his shoulder. Then Dawn forced him to look her in the eyes.

"Listen to me, Duncan. When I returned your memories to you, I could see them as well. Both of your lives. Your current, and clearly preferred one was one that I latched onto. You have a family that cares for you. Focus on them, and use your old life to better yourself," Dawn spoke warmly and Duncan could tell she wasn't lying. He pulled her into a hug.

"Thank you," Was all he said. They stood up and Dawn turned away.

"I saw _nothing_ ," She said. Duncan knew what she was implying. He quickly finished shoveling his loot into the bag, pulled out his Cooper card, quickly wrote something on it and jumped out the window.

* * *

"You had it _rough_!" Hunter exclaimed as Duncan finished his story. After his delay, his family had quickly asked what had happened to him and Duncan explained the best he could, explaining nearly everything.

There was just one thing he didn't know and it bothered everyone.

"Are you sure you don't know why you are here?" Bentley asked.

"Yeah, last thing I remember from that old life was looking up at the sky at…. _something_ ," Duncan said. "But I don't care! All those memories did was make me love you guys even more!" Duncan quickly found himself pulled into a group hug started by Murray and found himself crying yet again.

* * *

 **So Duncan doesn't exactly have as many good memories as Gwen did. His dad being abusive is a headcanon I have. Not physically as it was emotional and fantasy forbidding. But he understands something now. That he has a real family. But I know what you are shocked about most. Dawn showing up was something I had planned from the start as I wanted to have to characters from different stories interact. Owen and Brick were considered, but I could write Duncan and Dawn meeting up easier. Plus, it's kinda a teaser for anyone who didn't see the announcement on what Dawn's story is. Anyways, next time, we begin** _ **Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time**_ **! Peace out!**


	39. I Smell a Rat

**Gamelover41592- Couldn't have said it better myself**

 **Foxchick1- Yep**

 **Shadow Joestar- The twist with Dawn was one of things I was looking forward to writing the most**

 **Matt(Guest)- No, think more along the lines of** _ **Total Drama**_ **villains. But yes, a few villains from Duncan will have allied themselves with this new bad guy. As for Noah….I can't spoil everything, now can I?**

 **Bloodyninja88- Dawn will not being meeting back up with Gwen until the final story(I said Duncan and Dawn were the only to characters to be in different stories, but the same world). Also, what was this other set up you were thinking of?**

 **Anyways, I said it last time,** _ **Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time**_ **starts now!**

* * *

"This is i-i-impossible!" Maverick cried. Duncan could barely believe it himself. But here it was!

The pages of the _Thievius Raccoonus_ were disappearing!

"It may seem inconceivable, but this is very grim," Bentley said gravely.

"But I thought that history was set in stone?" Hunter asked.

"Well, clearly it isn't!" Buck said, causing Hunter punch in the shoulder.

"I'm with Hunter. The _only_ way this could be possible is if someone had a time machine!" Duncan pointed out.

"That's why I'm worried. You were all wondering what Penelope and I were working on all those years? Well…." Bentley said as he pulled back the sheets over a covered object that he had brought with him.

"Is that a TIME MACHINE?!" Murray exclaimed.

"Well, parts of one. We'll need a few more things. Namely Murray's van and an object from the time period we want to travel to,"

"The van and I are ready!" Murray declared.

"Why an object from the time period?" Sly asked.

"Call it a design flaw," Bentley said. "Luckily, I have an idea for an object we could steal," He tossed a picture of what looked like a priceless samurai dagger to Duncan and Sly and everyone looked over their shoulders to see it.

"Isn't this from the museum?" Duncan asked.

"Yes, but I did a little digging and found out that the way that the owner hasn't exactly been using... _legal_ means to get these objects," Bentley explained.

"Alright then, we had out tomorrow," Sly ordered.

"Um, shouldn't we tell mom?" Duncan asked. Carmelita had been away on a case for a few days now.

"No dice. We don't need anyone legal getting mixed up in this. But we are gonna need the extra backup…" Sly trailed and all four members of the Neo Cooper Gang caught the hint.

"We get to come with you!?" Maverick practically screamed.

"No way," Was all Hunter could say.

"If we find two dodo birds, let's make 'em kiss!" Buck said eagerly.

"Alright, everyone get ready!" Sly ordered, not noticing Duncan texting his mother exactly what was about to go down.

* * *

"Looks like I'm a little out of practice," Sly admitted as he snapped a pull he was trying to climb up. The heist had been going pretty well, but Sly was very clumsy. Before leaving, the gang had dropped the Thievius Raccoonus off with Muggshot and Mz. Ruby, trusting they could look after it. Mz. Ruby had also given them a way to contact them in order to learn what parts of the Thievius Raccoonus had gone missing.

"Too much food and no real practice or exercise except in the hips can do that to a guy," Duncan joked as the duo moved for a detour. Murray, Buck and Hunter were trucking surfing over to their locations and Bentley and Maverick were off to somewhere else.

"You say something, Sly?" Bentley asked.

"No, all good here, Bentley!" Sly quickly said.

"Okay, looks like you're going to have to find another way up. Use that ledge to move around to the front of the museum, and stay out of that security light!" Bentley explained.

"I think I can handle that," Sly said as he and Duncan started across.

"I can't believe the security of this place. This better be worth it," Duncan groaned as he made his way across. They then found themselves at a skylight.

"It sure looks like someone spent a fortune on this place. I wonder what kind of surprises they have inside," Sly noted.

"Careful now, that's the skylight we want, but it's locked. My instruments are showing that guard has the key," Bentley said.

"Don't worry, uncle Bentley. This'll be a piece of cake!" Duncan replied cockily. Unlike his father, Duncan had been going out for heists quite a bit in the seven year time gap. Sure enough, they were quickly able to grab the key.

"Okay Bentley, we're in place. Let us know when you and Maverick shut down the security system," Sly said as they opened up the skylight.

* * *

"Roger that Sly," Bentley said as he and Maverick started to move through the sewers.

"This place is d-d-d-disgusting!" Maverick groaned. It wasn't very hard to move through. Bentley's bombs took care of most of the problems found down there and it wasn't too hard to get across the gaps, especially for Maverick.

"Agh! If I fall in that filthy water, I'm buying a new shell!" Bentley groaned as he and Maverick made their way across yet another gap.

"Hmm, a-according to the s-schematics, the c-control room is right u-underneath us. Some e-e-explosives s-s-should do the t-t-trick," Maverick noted. Bentley caught the hint, dropped the bombs and dodged the lasers as they fell. "That would have taken more then a f-f-few f-f-feathers o-o-off!"

"How's that security system going, Bentley?" Sly asked.

"Yeah, Maverick, are you guys finished?" Duncan added.

"Uh... great! Perfect! We'll be done in a jiffy!" Bentley lied.

"Right," Duncan said, not convinced at all.

"Next time, I'm giving them the sewer job," Bentley said to Maverick, who snickered.

"There's the t-t-terminal!" Maverick pointed out. Bentley got right to work and within a few minutes had finished.

"Okay Murray, you, Buck and Hunter are on!" Bentley ordered.

* * *

"'The Murray' is ALWAYS on, Bentley!" Murray exclaimed.

"So is 'The Buck'!" Buck declared as he raised his stun club to the air.

"It's only cool when he does it," Hunter deadpanned as he rolled his eyes. As if on cue, dozen of guards but they were quickly taken down.

"Make your way to the loading dock. You gotta take out all the guards before I can open the gate," Bentley ordered.

"Understood," Hunter said. More guards were waiting at the loading dock, but they were also all quickly knocked out.

"Let's take care of this!" Murray said as he lobbed a rat guard at the junction box.

* * *

"Okay guys, the security system is down. You're all clear!" Bentley said.

"Great! We're going in," Duncan said as he and Sly dropped down. Sly grabbed the dagger while Duncan placed both Cooper calling cards down. Then Carmelita burst in.

"What the-?" Sly started to say, only for Carmelita to stop him.

"Duncan ratted you out," Carmelita said.

"Mom! I told you _NOT_ to snitch on me!" Duncan whined.

"Listen, I was going to catch you both anyways. I'm investigating this same place. So get out before the other cops see you," Carmelita explained. Duncan rushed out, but Sly stayed back and gave his wife a kiss before fleeing after his son.

"Good evening, this is the Coopers. We'd like to request a ride," Duncan joked once Sly had made it to the roof.

"Cute, Duncan. Now quit messing around and get down here. We're in the van and ready to roll!" Bentley ordered. Both Duncan and Sly jumped down and swung themselves inside.

"Let's hit it!" Sly said.

"Buckle up, boys!" Murray said before knocking several things over with the van. Finally, they found themselves cornered by the rat guards.

"Trapped we're!" Scruffy panicked. **(We're trapped! What? You thought I forgot about him?)**

"Relax," Bentley ordered. "Duncan, just put the dagger in the receptacle,"

"Okay?" Duncan said confused at what was about to go down.

"Perfect. Isotopic decay calibrated... adjusting fusion synthesis... Anytime you like to punch it, Murray!" Bentley said.

"You got it, chum!" Murray said as he floored it.

"Do NOT slow down, Murray!" Bentley ordered.

"I never do!" Murray said as he sped up. Suddenly, a time vortex appeared before the van.

"WHOA!" Everyone exclaimed as the van plowed into the vortex.

* * *

 **And with that, we begin game number 4! I wanted to get this out because I won't be updating for a while. It's spring break at my school and I'm going on vacation! Anyways, the Neo Cooper Gang is coming along this time and no annoying Carmelita and Sly drama! When I eventually update this, we will be Feudal Japan and be meeting up with Rioichi Cooper! Oh and one last thing, only Duncan's jobs will be shown, but I will mention what Hunter, Maverick and Buck get up too.**


	40. Turning Japanese

**Shadow Joestar- The ninja ancestor is named Rioichi Cooper**

 **Gamelover41592- It was my favorite too**

 **Bloodyninja88- Tsao will be back at some point.**

 **Matt(Guest)- You're got one villain, but you missed the other. Here's a hint: All Stars**

 **I don't know if any of you remember, but I said that Duncan's trench coat was too long from him to wear without tripping over it, so he put clips in it. Well, now he's tall enough to wear it normal. Anyways let's begin!**

* * *

Already, Duncan could tell something was very wrong. What should have been a peaceful village was more like a heavily guarded military base. As for the Cooper from the period, Rioichi Cooper, master ninja and sushi chef/inventor, he was locked up in a maximum security prison and his sushi restaurant was closed up. It was clear that first things first, the gang had to set him free.

* * *

 **Job 1: Photo Op**

"Okay Duncan, we need to break Rioichi out of jail. I have some ideas, but you know the drill - I need you to do some recon for me," Bentley ordered.

"Pictures, right?" Duncan asked.

"Correct-a-mundo, mon ami. I need shots of the Prison entrance and the Samurai Armor those big guards are wearing. You should also grab some shots of Rioichi's restaurant. We may need those for later. Capisce?" Bentley explained.

"Okay, but from now on, let's stick with one language, cool?" Duncan replied.

"Sayonara, Cooper-san!" Bentley signed off. Duncan rolled his eyes.

"Can't I we believe made we out it Paris of one in piece!" Scruffy said as Duncan headed off. **(I can't believe we made it out of Paris in one piece)**

"Me neither, bud," Duncan replied. As he jumped from rooftop to rooftop, Bentley and Duncan would offer commentary on the pictures.

"These guards look like real bruisers," Bentley said as Duncan got a picture of the the boar guard's armor.

"And real ugly too. That was definitely not his best side," Duncan added in, causing Scruffy to snicker.

"Hmm. I really don't like the look of that place," Bentley said once Duncan got a picture of the prison Rioichi was in.

"Something tells me the inside looks even worse," Duncan shuddered.

"That might be the largest gate I've ever seen," Bentley said as he looked over Duncan's photo of the dragon gates near the cliff.

"No kidding, but personally, I just want whatever loot is back there," Duncan said. "There's got to be _something_ valuable if the gates is _that_ well made," The gates were very fancy and seemed a little _too_ advanced for the time period.

"Mm. I love sushi!" Bentley exclaimed once Duncan took a picture of Rioichi's sushi shop.

"Hey, when we free Rioichi, you think he'll make some for us?" Buck asked over the binocucom.

"Sure I so hope!" Scruffy said. **(I sure hope so)**

"Eh, I could use some local flavor," Duncan replied.

"Duncan! There's some kind of commotion outside the local Geisha house. Go check it out and grab some shots too," Bentley ordered.

"When we get back to present, I'm buying you your own camera," Duncan deadpanned, but headed over nonetheless. When he arrived there was nothing there, but Duncan snapped the picture anyways. Suddenly, a tiger who should not be in this time period walked out of the Geisha house.

"Guy that not is this from period time!" Scruffy said. **(That guy is not from this time period!)**

"No kidding, I'm gonna get a picture of his ugly mug for uncle Bentley," Duncan said. He was able to quickly snap a picture, using his invisibility to hide from the tiger.

"Duncan, I'm sure I recognize that guy! He's wanted by INTERPOL! He's a ruthless mercenary general, responsible for overthrowing several small countries!" Bentley realized.

"Whoa! What's he doing here?" Duncan asked.

"I don't know, but one thing's for certain - my hunch was correct: We aren't the only ones with a time machine!" Bentley said gravely.

* * *

 **Job complete! Oh, and Duncan has a new pose(I skipped games 2 and 3 because they either didn't have one or it was just a picture). In a reference in his game one pose, he spins his cane on his finger and grins at the camera.**

* * *

"This is so good!" Duncan said as he chowed down on some sushi. After stealing some armor, Sly managed to set Rioichi free. In thanks, he was able to make the whole gang sushi. And sure enough, it was a fantastic.

"I am most thankful for your rescue. It was the least I could do," Rioichi replied.

"Well, I know we're I'm coming for sushi," Hunter joked.

"No kidding," Maverick agreed.

"Focus guys!" Bentley ordered and everyone turned to face him. **(Author's note, because, I have to split jobs between Duncan, Sly, and Rioichi, meaning Duncan won't do as much, I will need to write my own slideshows. Sorry if they suck)**

"You got a plan, Bentley?" Murray asked.

"Don't I always? Anyways, that tiger is most definitely _not_ from this time period. He goes by El Jefe. He's known for taking over several small countries around the globe, normally for the highest bidder. So we need to be careful. Thankfully I have plan! Sly, you and Rioichi need to regain control of the sushi shop. It may not seem like it, but that could be vital to our operation. Murray, Hunter, Buck, you guys will be coming with me. In order for Rioichi to continue making sushi, he'll need the finest fish. Maverick, you'll need to use one of drones to tail El Jefe. Hopefully, we can find out his plans from that. After all of that is taken care off, Rioichi, Murray and I will need to steal Madame Geisha's outfit. She is the only one El Jefe will talk to about most of his plans. But what he doesn't know is that she is on vacation. If we can masquerade as her, we can get more of his plans. Finally, Duncan and Rioichi will need to steal some poisonous plants. Those could come in handy," Bentley explained.

* * *

Because he had free time until everyone else was done, Duncan decided to explore the town and pickpocket the guards for loot. Suddenly, there was a bright flash.

"The what?!" Scruffy exclaimed. **(What the?!)**

"Agreed," Duncan said as he moved to where the source was. He was expecting plenty of things.

Seeing his mom stuck in a fish basket was not one of those.

"MOM?!" Duncan exclaimed as he helped his mother to her feet. "What the heck are you doing here?"

"As it turns out, you were completely right about that museum owner. I found out his true way about gathering his art is by stealing it. But when I went to confront him, he had his goons surround me. In a rush, I grabbed the closest thing to me and the next thing I know, I'm in this fish basket. Where are we anyways?" Carmelita explained.

"Feudal Japan," Duncan replied as he turned on his binocucom. "Did you guys get all of that?"

"Heard it all, Duncan!" Sly replied. "Is Carmelita okay?"

"She's fine, ringtail," Carmelita replied.

"We're on our way back! Head back for the safehouse and we can talk a bit more about what Carmelita found," Bentley explained.

"Let's get going," Duncan said, failing to shake that sense of dread he was feeling.

* * *

"So this Le Paradox has a time machine?" Bentley asked.

"Yes, and I'm not sure how that's even possible. You and Penelope were the only ones that knew about it," Carmelita replied.

"Yeah, but you're with us and Penelope is-uh oh," Murray realized.

"She wouldn't have betrayed us, right?!" Duncan frantically tried to convince himself of that. Everyone started to panic, before Sly slammed his cane onto the table, getting everyone's attention.

"I'm _sure_ Penelope wouldn't have betrayed us. The plans could have been stolen. Even without that, there's _a lot_ of evil geniuses out there as I'm sure we all know," Sly said.

"Yeah, like Clockwerk," Murray said.

"Sir Raleigh," Carmelita noted.

"Neyla," Bentley added in a spiteful voice

"Didn't you say that Contessa chick was kinda smart?" Hunter asked.

"That Arpeggio guy," Buck added

"General Tsao?" Maverick asked.

"Does Captain LeFwee count?" Duncan questioned.

"Seems like you do know of many evil geniuses," Rioichi noted.

"See? There could be plenty of reasons that there's another time machine and Penelope is missing. We'll call her backstabbing us a worse case scenario," Sly explained. "Let's go get the rest of what we need,"

* * *

 **Job 2: Spiked Sushi**

"Thanks for letting me come with, Rioichi. It's been a dream of mine for years to meet the Coopers of the past," Duncan said as he and Rioichi made their way to the area where the plants were growing.

"Ah, it is truly a pleasure to now that the Cooper line continues even to your future. But I do have a question. You do not seem to be a pure raccoon like Sly, but I have never seen a creature like you before. What are you, exactly?" Rioichi asked.

"That's a very long and confusing story. But if you want the short version, I'm something called a human. I got sent here from another world. But….I really don't want to go back to that other world," Duncan admitted.

"Hm. You are happy where you stand?" Rioichi asked.

"Yeah, my life in that other world….wasn't that great," Duncan said simply.

"Then it would make plenty of sense as to why you would chose to stay," Rioichi said.

"The fact that you are believing me without any questions is both confusing and impressive," Duncan noted.

"Ninja masters don't get confused. Besides, with all that has happened lately, I am willing to plenty of stories that would normally be quite strange," Rioichi explained.

"That makes sense," Duncan agreed. Then the duo entered into a cave. "This the place?"

"It would appear so," Rioichi said. As if on cue, Bentley called in.

"Okay, Rioichi, we need you and Duncan to collect samples from those strange plants growing high on the cave walls. Commonly known as the Spiky Wall Climber, it secretes a mild toxin we can use to make sushi rolls that will put any guard to sleep instantly. Just be careful not to be overcome yourself," Bentley explained.

"Bentley-san, did I not explain-" Rioichi began, only for a frustrated Bentley to cut him off.

"You're a ninja master. I know, I know," Bentley said quickly. Duncan laughed.

"Has this happened before?" Duncan asked.

"Several," Bentley groaned.

"Hai! Now, allow us to show you how it's done," Rioichi said.

"Well, now at least I know where Sly and Duncan get it from," Bentley said as he signed off.

"Remember, Duncan-san, you will need to strike the blossom to extract the poison," Rioichi said as he handed Duncan a sword. "Use that to cut the pod out,"

"Thanks," Duncan said as Rioichi headed further into the cave, saying something about how "Only Bentley believes these puny traps can stop a ninja". Duncan, on the other hand, did have to do much searching, there was one right near the front of the cave and only a few guards guarding it. However, unlike the other guards. These guys made no effort to hide that they weren't from around this time period. They were dressed in hazmat suits and had high tech weaponry. Still, with a little stealth and use of a new skill he had been creating combining his invisibility and his camouflage mutation, Duncan was able to take them out with ease.

"Traps puny stop can't Cooper a either," Scruffy joked. ( **Puny traps can't stop a Cooper either)** Duncan laughed as he climbed to the plant

"No kidding," Duncan replied as he smacked the plant with his cane. It opened up, and Duncan pulled it other further and then cut the vine holding it. "I got it!"

"I have collected mine as well," Rioichi said over his binocucom.

"Let's head back then," Duncan said as he jumped down.

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

"Alright, we have all the intel we need. El Jefe has played dictator for the last time, and it's time to bring him down. First, we need to open those dragon gates. Thanks to Rioichi's special sushi rolls, the guards are out for the count. Sly, you'll need to gain access to the switches in their mouths. Next, we'll need to open the palace sword gate. However, the bridge is crawling with guards, so we'll need to create a diversion. Everyone else will need to distract the guards. Once they're occupied, Rioichi can make his way under the bridge to the switch and open the gate. Once we get that gate open, there's nothing stopping us from taking the palace and putting El Jefe in his place. Viva la revolución!" Bentley explained via another slideshow, which is he was now calling "Chalk Talks".

* * *

 **Job 3: Altitude Sickness**

"The dragon gates are open!" Sly announced.

"Let's move!" Duncan told the rest of the group. Once everyone was inside the gates, they found El Jefe waiting for them.

"End of the line, Cooper! Get them you fools!" El Jefe ordered. Several more rat guards suddenly came running out as Rioichi headed under the bridge.

"Ok, you all know what to do... Time to kick some butt!" Bentley ordered.

"My favorite time of the day!" Murray cheered.

"The effect of that goes away pretty quickly when you are still dressed as a Geisha, uncle Murray," Duncan noted. After he had to dress up as(and impress some guards) as Madame Geisha, Murray hadn't taken the outfit off.

"Are you going to take that off?" Hunter asked as he kicked a frozen guard into another one.

"I will, but it makes me feel so _lushest_ ," Murray said and then looked completely confused as to why Duncan, Hunter and Maverick(who was flying so he could control his drones) looked like they were trying to hold in vomit. Finally, all the guards were down and Rioichi had opened up the door. He motioned everyone in, but El Jefe pounced on him and grabbed his cane.

"It's mine!" El Jefe roared.

"My cane!" Rioichi cried. El Jefe laughed. He then rushed across another bridge, destroying it with his swords, which he had somehow set on fire. He then turned back to face the gang.

"Sorry, Coopers, you lose! I need to deliver this puny stick to a new owner!" El Jefe said as he headed for his statue.

"No! El Jefe's getting away!" Bentley panicked.

"Relax, Uncle Bentley," Duncan said as he started to make his way across the ruined the bridge. El Jefe had managed to leave some spots he could spire jump too.

"Don't worry, Rioichi. Watch out for these two. We're going to kick some tiger tail and get your cane back!" Sly said as he jumped after Duncan. El Jefe was waiting for them, sitting on a throne as he stroked a pigeon.

"Hahaha! Hey, Coopers, what do you think of my statue?" El Jefe asked.

"Looks great if you like pigeons!" Duncan replied. El Jefe smacked the bird away.

"Bah! I hope you can fly like a pigeon, Coopers. Otherwise, you'll never catch me!" He exclaimed as he cut a support rope, sending him up to the top of the statue.

"This is gonna be a long climb," Duncan groaned, very grateful he was now part lizard.

* * *

"C'mon, just a little more!" Duncan grunted as he helped hoist his father onto a platform. On the horizon, they could see that he top of the statue was El Jefe's face.

"A magnificent likeness isn't it, Coopers? Almost as handsome as the real thing!" El Jefe bragged.

"If you call being handsome that thing, then yes," Duncan replied.

El Jefe growled "Take a nice, long look. I want you to remember the one who crushed you!" He slammed his cigar into his fist. El Jefe then leapt onto the platform and launched a fireball with his sword. Sly was able to dodge, but Duncan wasn't. He was knocked back

"Duncan!" Sly said as he rushed over to his son. However, Duncan was completely fine.

"How-?" El Jefe began to say, only for Duncan to pull something out from under his shirt. It was Mz. Ruby's necklace.

"That was magic, wasn't it?" Duncan chuckled. The necklace was a magic blocker! El Jefe just growled. The battle continued for a few more minutes, with Duncan and Sly waiting for a chance to strike, before El Jefe lept away.

"After him!" Duncan said as he and Sly chased El Jefe down. They found him meditating, waiting for them.

"You know something, Cooper? You're actually starting to annoy me," El Jefe revealed.

"Oh, don't worry. We have that effect on all cowardly crime lords," Sly revealed. El Jefe growled.

"Heh, El Jefe. Isn't that Spanish for 'big baby?'" Duncan joked.

"Bah! Enough of these stupid games!" El Jefe roared as he turned around. The two Coopers continued to dodge El Jefe's attacks, strike when they could, and chase after him when he ran away.

"For a guy who likes to claim how tough he is, he runs away a lot," Duncan noted as El Jefe slashed a crane, causing it to fall.

"Hey, Coopers - How do you like my 'crane' style? Hahahahaha!" El Jefe joked.

"I don't know what's worse, El Jefe or his jokes," Sly said they continued the chase. This was the final time, as after another round of smacking El Jefe around, he was defeated.

"Im... possible!" El Jefe managed out as he fell unconscious.

"Not really," Duncan joked as he and Sly went to grab Rioichi's cane. Suddenly, a grenade was dropped near their feet. Both Coopers were barely able to dodge in time, hanging onto the ledge with their canes. More rat troopers then grabbed the cane. A rope was lowered and lifted them up to a blimp. As Duncan and Sly got back onto the platform, what looked like an old sheriff's badge dropped at their feet. Before either could see a word, the blimp time warped away.

* * *

 **Sorry this took so long! So yeah, Carmelita joins a chapter early so the gang knows who they are fighting from the start. Anyways, onto personal thoughts! The level was pretty fun and I remember laughing so hard when Murray was dressed as Madame Geisha. I love ninjas, so Rioichi was able to make himself a favorite pretty quickly. He wasn't as much fun as some of the later ancestors, but he was still a lot of fun. El Jefe was pretty cool as well and his boss fight is one of the best first bosses I have ever face. Easily the best first boss in the series. Next time, we head for the old west in order to help "Tennessee Kid" Cooper.**


	41. Go West Young Raccoon

**Gamelover41592- Because she needed more screen time and jobs in the main game. . Also, I really like how I wrote her(Badass cop mom with a soft side), so any chance I get to use her, I take.**

 **Shadow Joestar- You are very good at summarizing the chapters.**

 **Matt(Guest)- I refuse to spoil what I'm doing with Penelope this time. And you are still missing a big villain.**

 **Bloodyninja88- I've seen the comic. It was pretty sweet.**

 **I forgot to mention this last time, but even though you don't see any of Buck, Hunter or Maverick's missions, here are their victory poses.**

 **Hunter: He spins his freeze ray on his finger(like how you see people spin pistols in the movies), before cocking it and pointing it towards the camera.**

 **Maverick: His drone flies around him and he smiles at the camera and gives a thumbs up.**

 **Buck: He tosses his stun club into the air before crossing his arms and grinning at the camera, only for his club to hit him in the head.**

 **Anyways, let's begin.**

* * *

After dropping El Jefe back off in the future, where he was swiftly arrested, the gang needed to find where to go next. The sheriff's badge, along with Mz. Ruby saying something about the desert, clued the gang in that they needed to help out "Tennessee Kid" Cooper. He was known for pulling off some of the daring heists in Cooper history! Which made it a pretty big shock to find out that he was locked up. This was the work of the local sheriff, who had celebrated by putting up his pictures all over town. Duncan still couldn't shake that pit in his stomach. He knew that something was wrong with this whole thing. He didn't have a lot of time to dwell on it though. Bentley had done some analysing on the prison and found that the best way to bust Tennessee out from the inside. This meant that Sly was going to have to get arrested. Both father and son were a little worried about that ruining their perfect record(all heists succeeding and never being captured) but Carmelita confirmed that she wouldn't tell anyone in the police about the capture. It was still a nerve-wracking idea to let the law catch Sly in this town, though.

* * *

 **Job 1: Jailhouse Blues**

"Okay, Duncan, you'll need to recon the area. With Sly already locked up, I need the pictures to come up with a plan," Bentley said.

"Whatever you say Uncle Bentley," Duncan replied.

"Are how not you hot?" Scruffy demanded. **(How are you not hot?)** It had gotten so hot under Duncan's hat, Scruffy had moved to his shoulder.

"I can regulate my body temperature, remember?" Duncan asked. Scruffy pouted.

"Fair no!" He protested. **(No fair!)** Duncan laughed and got ready to start taking pictures.

"Sly and Tennessee Kid Cooper are in that high tower," Bentley explained as Duncan snapped a picture of said tower. It was very tall and imposing.

"That's gonna be a long escape," Duncan noted.

"Huh. Unless I'm mistaken, that is definitely a munitions dump. Very handy," Bentley said as Duncan took a picture of the sign next to it.

"So that's like weapons and bombs, right?" Duncan asked.

"That would be correct," Bentley answered.

"Nice," Duncan replied.

"Aha. There is clearly some structural weakness along the rear wall," Bentley said. Duncan quickly caught on.

"Why do I get the feeling I know what you are planning?" He asked before bursting into laughter. "I LOVE IT!"

"Yeah, well if you want to watch the fireworks, head over to that nearby cliff," Bentley said. Duncan made his way up to the cliff and after about 25 minutes, saw Sly and Tennessee make their escape.

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

"So this Toothpick fella did steal my gold!" Tennessee raged as he slammed his fist into the table. Once they got back to the hideout, Tennessee explained what had happened. When he was getting ready to pull off a bank heist, that should have gone down as his masterpiece, "sheriff" Toothpick arrested him before he even reached the bank. The gold went missing anyways, and Tennessee was charged, despite already being in prison. He had a very strong feeling that Toothpick had stolen it himself and after Bentley did some digging, there was no chance it wasn't truth. Toothpick was a gangster from modern times who loved two things growing up- gold and cowboy movies. It seemed like Le Paradox had given him a chance to live out his fantasy.

"Seems like it, but did this town not have a sheriff before he rolled in?" Hunter asked.

"Naw! It did! Ol' Sheriff Wilson left town for a bit visit some family up North," Tennessee explained.

"It wasn't very smart leaving without picking a replacement," Murray pointed out.

"Yeah, but I think the ol' bird's gettin' a bit loose in the head if ya get me," Tennessee revealed. Bentley then got everyone's attention.

"Okay, the first order of business is getting Tennessee his guns back," Bentley began.

"Well, it's just the one gun now. I upgrade it, but yeah I need my shooting iron back," Tennessee interrupted.

"Agreed. According to my sources, Toothpick blows this old gold mine several months ago declaring it unsafe. In fact, he's converted it to a storage facility for his stolen goods including Tennessee's gun. We'll need to take measures with this job so as not to arouse suspicion. So by employing a masterful disguise, I'll tail Toothpick to the mine's entrance and mark it with a homing beacon. Murray, you'll then use the beacon to find your way there. Toothpick sure to have secure the entrance so we'll need your... formidable skills to get it open. Then once we have access, Tennessee can get in and get his gun back. Let's get to work," Bentley explained.

* * *

 **Job 2: Saloon Bug**

"God, it's been too long since you and I did helped Bentley do his dirty work," Duncan joked as he and Sly made their way over to the saloon. After tailing Toothpick and retrieving Tennessee's gun, Bentley had learned that his offices were in the upper levels of the saloon. Duncan and Sly had to seek across the main area until they found a vent. At which point, Maverick was going to take over with his drone. They were going to use the RC car, but it was full of sand after Murray took it for a test. They still were cleaning it out. Once they were across from the saloon, Bentley radioed them.

"Toothpick's office is somewhere in the upper levels of the saloon. To find out what he's planning, our best bet is to plant a bug. Needless to say, we must remain undetected. Conveniently, I discovered they're looking for a new bartender, so I'll go in - undercover - and control the situation by introducing the patrons to my special home-brewed sarsaparilla," Bentley explained.

"Your mustache looks... bigger. What have you been feeding it?" Sly said. Duncan chuckled. It wasn't a mission if one of the Cooper men didn't mess with Bentley. The mustache in question was part of Bentley's disguise.

"Pay attention, Sly. You'll need to enter through that window and make your way to the ventilation system. Meanwhile, I'll have the goons inside so sugared up, they'll be seeing double until they crash. Hard. Once you launch the drone in the vents, Maverick'll take control and guide it to Toothpick's office,"

"You're not going to start wearing that mustache all the time, are you?" Duncan asked. Scruffy was sitting inside the van(He said he wanted the air conditioner), so Duncan asked the question he knew his pet would have asked.

"Jealousy is such an ugly emotion," Bentley replied.

"Watch your back, pal. This place looks pretty rough," Sly warned as Duncan opened up the window.

"Will do. See you inside!" Bentley said. Duncan and Sly waited in the rafters while Bentley got everyone hammered.

"Hey, you think I could swipe some of that later?" Duncan asked.

"After we deal with this whole time travel mess!" Sly ordered. If the beer could knock out the seven foot tall, 200 hundred pound guards, in only a drink or two, Duncan would be out for days. Then again, Sly had seen his son down nearly a full bottle of wine, alone and without dinner, so anything was possible. Sly just didn't want to risk anything.

"Whoa! Some of the guards are still awake. We'll need to be careful," Duncan noticed, mentally chuckling. Only a few guards were up and they were pretty drunk, but was still a danger.

"We just need to stay off the floor," Sly pointed out. It wasn't that hard of a journey to make.

"Just drop the drone in and I c-can t-take c-control," Maverick said. He was able to quickly reach Toothpick's office and broadcasted the conversation Toothpick was having to the rest of the Cooper gang.

"Alright, listen up! My pardner's got an ace up his sleeve, and we're about to go all in! This trump card's gonna crush Cooper and the rest of his claim-jumping gang! We're gonna learn 'em you don't yank a rattlesnake's tail less'n yer lookin' to get bit! Har har! Then, we're gonna finish loadin' up that train and haul our sweet, little keisters outta of this one-horse town! Once we get that loot back into present day, I, Toothpick, gonna be worth billions!" Toothpick announced before blasting one of his men with his gun. "Eh... Ooopies"

"Dangit, boss! Would ya watch where you're pointin' that thing?" Another goon said.

" **Are you talkin' to me**?!" Toothpick demaned as his voice turned much deeper.

"Whoa, boss, whoa! I'm sorry! I didn't mean nuthin'!" The goon backtracked.

"W-w-what was up with T-T-T-Toothpick!?" Maverick asked worriedly.

"I don't know but something tells me that this could be an issue," Duncan said as he and Sly made their exit.

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

"Bad news everyone! Toothpick is planning to leaving this time period soon! As it turns out, his train has its own time machine on it! As per usual, I have a plan to make sure that doesn't happen. All we need to do is get the three keys to the train tracks and switch them so we can sneak aboard. However, that festival Toothpick is throwing is happening and all three key guards are competing! Murray, you'll have to beat "Wildman" Weezner in a full out brawl. This should be right up your alley. Next, Sly will have to defeat Frenchie Le Stache in Toothpick 500. Supposedly, it got its name from all the people that died in it. But I'm sure you'll be fine. Lastly, Carmelita will have to beat Red Eye Robles, in the sharpshooting gallery. The rest will be free to watch the events, along with your backs, and see if we can find any more information about Toothpick. Good luck to all!" Bentley explained with yet another chalk talk.

* * *

"You go dad!" Duncan cheered as his father moved across the race course. Along with watching the events, Duncan and other Neo Cooper members had been collecting time "souvenirs" to take with them when they went back home. Bentley had given the O.K. He said that as long as the item held no time importances(IE it wouldn't be a historical artifact or teach about the past), they could swipe it. Back in Japan, Duncan had swiped a ninja star, banner and a katana and he had just now stolen a cowboy hat, cowboy boots, a revolver(which he had made sure was empty), and a wanted poster that had him on it(Toothpick put them up).

"Anything good?" Hunter asked as he came over.

"Hat, boots, gun, and a wanted poster," Duncan replied while showing his friend said items.

"Nice. I picked up mostly the same. Oh, and a branding iron," Hunter said.

"No using that on Buck, no matter how annoying he can be!" Duncan said quickly.

"Idiot actually asked me to use it on him," Hunter said. "I won't though," Both boys laughed.

"Where's Maverick and Buck, anyways?" Duncan asked.

"Maverick is over by the shooting gallery and I think I saw Buck near the boxing ring," Hunter replied. "Maverick grabbed a hat, his own wanted poster, and a spare sheriff's badge. Buck got the same stuff and a golden railway spike," Duncan rolled his eyes, before they landed on a nearby skull.

"Check out the horns on this thing!" Duncan marveled. "How do you think this would look on the wall of my room?"

"Pretty damn badass, especially if tell everyone you shot the damn beast," Hunter said. Both boys laughed.

"Okay, we have all three keys!" Bentley announced over the binocucom. "Everyone get back to the safehouse!"

* * *

Once everyone returned, Bentley had a slideshow prepped.

"Okay everyone! It's time to get back Tennessee's gold and put at stop to Toothpick! With the keys we have, I have already changed the tracks, which should let us all board. Murray, you'll be driving along the train with the Neo Cooper Gang. Sorry guys, but I don't have anything for you guys to do," Bentley began.

"No problem! I was getting really hot anyways," Hunter groaned.

"I need work on getting the sand out of the RC c-c-car a-a-and m-m-my d-d-drone," Maverick admitted.

"I wonder if you can get ice cream around here," Buck said, seemingly lost in his own world again.

"Relax, Uncle Bentley. I don't care. Tennessee getting his gold back is all I care about," Duncan said. Behind him, Tennessee gave off a grin. In order to not screw up the timeline, he had been told to act like the heist had gone completely as planned before Toothpick had shown up.

"Meanwhile, I will need to the train whistles. Toothpick _really_ hates them so having control over them means I can blow them any time I need. Carmelita, I'll need you to give me cover against the guards. There's gonna be heavy hitters and I can't take them all out with my bombs. Sly and Tennessee will need to move ahead to where the gold is. Sly goes on the outside and Tennessee goes in. With any luck, we can nab Toothpick while we are at it," Bentley finished.

* * *

"SLOW DOWN!" Duncan hollered at Murray as everyone held on. Everything had been going well until Toothpick caught Tennessee off guard and stole his cane/gun. Sly battled Toothpick and was able to take him out. But there was one problem.

The van was headed straight towards a cliff.

"I can't!" Murray replied. "The breaks don't work!"

"We're all gonna die!" Buck yelled out as the van plunged over the edge.

"Give me that!" Bentley said as he grabbed Murray's Australian fossil necklace and hurled in into the time machine. A time portal just as van would have hit the ground and everyone held on even tighter.

* * *

 **Another chapter down. I love cowboys so I liked this chapter. Some missions could have been better but most were pretty good. Tennessee is easily my second favorite ancestor. I love how gung-ho he was about everything and his gun cane was awesome. But the main highlight of this chapter was** _ **TOOTHPICK**_ **! Best villain in Sly 4, hands down. He was so funny with his mannerism and he could still be pretty threatening. His boss fight was one of the weaker ones in the game, but I still had some fun with it and it made good use of the jailbird costume. Anyways, next time, we are going to see where the gang wound up. See ya then!**


	42. Clan of the Cave Raccoon

**Gamelover41592- Thank you :)**

 **Shadow Joestar- You are very good at summaries**

 **Matt(Guest)- It was in your second comment. You guessed one villain earlier and you just guessed one**

 **Bloodyninja88- I've never actually spotted Clockwerk, plus it would just make everything a lot sadder.**

 **Okay, so I'm trying to get this finished before the end of school so I can have two easier stories over the summer(Dawn's and Junior's) The video game stories will be the longest ones. I'm already dreading Owen's and Jasmine's stories(why does Shantae have to have** _ **another**_ **freaking game come out this year….even if I can't wait to play it). Brick's and Mike and Zoey's won't be as bad, because it's only one game. Anyways, enough pointless rambling! Let's begin.**

* * *

Already, Duncan could tell that things weren't going the gang's way. They had ended up in the ice age, which somehow had dinosaurs still running around. Bentley for some reason had dino-repellent, which Sly thankfully stopped him from firing. Making matters worse was the fact that some of the pieces of the time machine went missing in the crash. Mz. Ruby also couldn't be contacted, so they were left without a guide. Duncan hoped Bentley had a plan because he really didn't want to spend the rest of his life in a cave.

* * *

"Bad news just got worse. Looks like a couple of pieces of the time drive broke off of that crash landing. I need you to track down the missing components A.S.A.P. Fortunately, the advanced trajectoral management processor is still functional, so I was able to calculate their most likely positions. Unfortunately, they seem to have landed in some dangerous terrain. The temporal sprocket appears to have fallen close to some pterodactyl nests and I'm afraid one of these prehistoric penguins might've gotten it's flippers on the Gravity Encabulator. Oh, they may look cute, but those little devils are nasty. " _Really?" Hunter snarked in the background._ This isn't going to be a simple pickup, guys. Get some photos of their precise locations and I'll analyze them to formulate a plan. But watch your back, I don't think we're the first guests at this party. See the structure on that mountain? It appears to be some kind of conveyor belt system. Definitely not Ice Age technology. Get a picture of that machinery too. I smell a rat or possibly something even worse,"

"I'm beginning to think we were supposed to end up here at some point," Duncan said nervously.

* * *

 **Job 1: Stone Age Reconnaissance**

"Um, I thought Dad was doing this with me?" Duncan said. Sly hadn't followed him out of the hideout.

"He's busy 'warming up' your mother," Bentley explained. Duncan rolled his eyes.

"Of course he is," Duncan deadpanned.

"Yeah, but all it did was make me think about Penelope," Bentley said sadly.

"Don't worry Uncle Bentley, we're gonna get her back. I promise," Duncan replied. He then started off on his photo hunt.

"Perfecto, Duncan! I'll find a way to pry the Encabulator out of their dastardly beaks," Bentley said as Duncan took a picture of the penguin that eaten gravity encabulator.

"They don't look like the worst bird I've seen," Duncan replied, shuddering thinking about Clockwerk.

"Not definitely worst the," Scruffy replied. **(Definitely not the worst)**

"Very nice, Duncan. Getting a shot of that pterodactyl took some skill," Bentley complemented Duncan's shot of a pterodactyl holding the temporal sprocket.

"I think Hunter could climb up to the nest," Duncan said, thinking about all the times his friend had used his ice gun to make crawling walls for himself.

"Hmm, he would be able to a good job," Bentley noted.

"Hear that, Hunter?" Duncan asked. "I just scored you a job,"

" _Anything_ would be better then listening to your parents," Hunter replied. Duncan howled in laughter.

"Okay, that conveyor belt does not belong here. The question is: What it's being used for?" Bentley said as Duncan took a picture of the conveyor belt. It was leading several eggs into a structure that kinda looked like an arena

"No kidding, unless this guy really likes omelets," Duncan noted. He was about to head back, but Bentley spoke up.

"Duncan, I'm picking something up. Look for a building that resembles an arena and let's take a closer look. My thermal vision is picking up a lot of activity there,"

"You're the boss," Duncan replied as he started his journey over. When he reached the door of the arena, there was a bling wearing bear painting something in the wall.

"One... two... got a masterpiece for you!" The bear said as he finished painting. Duncan snapped his picture.

"Way no wants he omelets dino," Scruffy pointed out. **(No way he wants dino omelets)**

"Yeah, no way this guy dug that bling up around here," Duncan added in.

"No, you're absolutely right, Duncan. He definitely doesn't belong here. This whole place demands an investigation. Let's start by figuring out who we're with dealing here. Head back to the hideout," Bentley said.

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

"Okay, so what's the plan?" Sly asked once he and Carmelita had finished.

"First things first, we need to see what is going on in that arena," Bentley explained. "And _this_ time, you and Duncan are both going,"

"Relax, ringtail, I can wait this time," Carmelita said in a flirty voice. "I was going to go off on my own for a bit anyways,"

"Let's get a move on then," Sly said.

* * *

 **Job 2: Unexpected Ties**

"Okay, so how are we getting in here?" Duncan asked once he and Sly reached the arena.

"That crack in the wall looks like the perfect entrance, but you better keep a low profile until we know what's going on. We need to figure out what that bear is up to," Bentley replied.

"Got you it!" Scruffy answered for his owner. **(You got it!)** The duo was able to quickly move through the crawlspace formed by the crack.

"I know! I heard when Joe messed up, the boss turned him into a coat for that Le Paradox guy!" A mammoth guard said as Duncan and Sly passed him in the crawlspace.

"Yeah, that Le Paradox is bad news. I heard last time he was here, he yanked this one guy's tusks. Just for fun!" Another guard added.

"Ouch. Yeah, good luck talking to the ladies without any tusks," The first replied.

"Okay, being turned into a coat for that runt is a _nasty_ way to go out," Duncan said to his father once they crawled out.

"I can think of worse deaths," Sly replied. As they explored, they saw a large furry creature being held down by a net with a saber tooth tiger trying to pull something away from nim.

"Wow, I'm glad I'm not that poor guy," Duncan said.

"What's weird is that he looks kinda familiar…" Sly mused.

"Wait... holy missing links! Guys, that's a prehistoric raccoon! I wonder if he could be...?" Bentley realized.

"...my ancestor?" Sly finished his thought.

"I already see the resemblance," Duncan joked.

"It's a distinct possibility. Let's help him out! Sly, I have an idea, but you need to get that Sabertooth tiger skin! Just don't let the guards see you!" Bentley explained.

"We're on it, Bentley. One tiger skin, comin' up," Sly replied. Once they were able to get the key needed from the bear, Sly and Duncan snuck it and grabbed the suit.

"So why does dad need to wear this?" Duncan asked as he and Sly continued deeper into the arena, only to be blocked by a large pit of molten tar.

"I was getting to that, it allows the wearer to pounce onto objects, allowing them to cross large gaps," Bentley explained. "Seeing as you can climb across walls, I thought Sly could use this,"

"Got it, thanks Bentley," Sly said as he pounced onto an enemy that was across the pit. Duncan jumped onto the wall and made a point not to look at the pit below him. He was very thankful he could crawl across icy walls. This continued, up until they reached the arena where they saw a guard rip what looked like a crude Cooper cane out of the raccoon's hands.

"Give that back! It's mine!" He roared as the guard tossed the cane to the bear.

"Here's the cheese, now tell the boss what he owes me!" The bear told the rat guard he handed the cane off too.

"We need to free that guy!" Duncan said.

"I think if Sly pounces on all the guards holding the net down, that guy could free himself," Bentley said.

"I think this is job for you, dad," Duncan told his dad.

"Let's do this," Sly said as he pounced on the first guard. Sure enough, once all the net guards were taken down, the raccoon freed himself, knocking all the guards into the tar. Sly jumped down while Duncan paraglided down.

"Thank you for freeing me, but that bear got my tool!" The raccoon said in understandable gibberish.

"Sly! I ran some analyses! I think you and Duncan just found the very first Cooper!" Bentley marvaled.

"Um, hi. I don't know how to explain this, but we are related…..very distantly," Sly explained.

"I could believe after everything that has been happening here lately but who's the other one?" Caveman Cooper asked as he pointed at Duncan.

"This is even harder to explain, but I'm Sly's adopted son….and I'm from another world," Duncan replied.

"Um, okay," Caveman Cooper said simply.

"Um, do you have a name?" Duncan asked.

"They call me-" He had a name, but Sly and Duncan couldn't make heads or tails of what he said.

"Um, how about we just call you...Bob?" Sly said.

"Yeah, that works," Bob said.

"Now howabout we get out of here?" Sly offered as he started walking off, only for Bob to grab him and go the other way. "Or we can go your way," Duncan started laughing.

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

Once Sly and Duncan got...Bob back to the hideout, everyone took an instant liking to him. Bob, for his part, took an instant liking to Bentley's gadgets. While Bob was busy, Bentley was able to do some research on the bear that was holding him captive. His name was the Grizz. He was at one point just a common street thug, much like Duncan used to be before being tossed into Sly's world(and thinking about that made Duncan cringe). But one day, he got thrust into the limelight, because his graffiti was hailed a great new style called "paleo-graffiti" and he quickly got famous off it. However, that fame died almost as soon as everyone realized that his art was just...bad. He returned to his roots, quickly becoming the top art thief on Interpol's most wanted list(before Carmelita knew about Le Paradox). Once they were able to get Bob to focus, he explained that Grizz just showed up one day and started stealing all the eggs, eliminating both his role as food provider and greatest egg thief ever. Depressed, he ended up out of ship, which let Grizz capture him and take the new "tool" he'd invented to help with his egg stealing. What Grizz wanted with eggs remained a mystery, but the first order of business was to get Bob back into climbing shape. Despite Hunter claiming he could handle it alone.

* * *

"Showoff," Hunter grumbled as Bob came back in and flexed. He had just been training with Murray and was more then ready to help take down Grizz.

"What's the plan, Uncle Bentley?" Duncan asked.

"It's simple. First, Hunter and Bob will need to retrieve the Temporal Sprocket. It's high up in the pterodactyls nest, so I hope both your climbing skills and nerves are ready! Next, Buck and Murray will need to get the Gravity Encabulator from the penguins. Those little flightless devils have broken it up into a bunch of pieces and eaten! Maverick, you and me are headed into the ice caves. I want to learn what the Grizz wants with those eggs," Bentley explained.

* * *

 **Job 3: Duty Calls**

Once Bentley and Maverick had returned from tagging Grizz, Duncan and Sly were sent right after him.

"Remember, tail Grizz until you get the code to his fortress. We need to get in there if we're going to stop him. You shouldn't have any trouble finding him since he's tagged with the homing darts. Just follow the signal," Bentley remained them.

"We probably didn't even need the darts. He's kinda hard to miss," Duncan pointed out. Grizz was probably the most misplaced guy they could have ever put in the time period.

"Okay, he's on the move. Stay close, so I can pull the data we need off his phone. And don't underestimate him, he's no lightweight!" Bentley warned.

"Definitely he's lightweight no," Scruffy joked. **(He's definitely no lightweight)**

"It ain't yo bus, my name is the Grizz. You see I'm hairy and scary and all of that stuff. Get the heck out of my way or I'm gonna get rough. Word. Gonna make me a fortune I'm the greatest around, all I gotta do is paint my art in the ground," The Grizz said.

"Maybe this guy should have tried to be a rap artist," Duncan noted. "He'd at least be good at it,"

"No kidding," Sly noted. Then the Grizz's phone rang.

"What? (answers his phone) Fool, you tryin to run some kinda game on the Grizz? I'm tired of you tellin me to walk the line straight when you walkin it all crooked. Yeah, that's right. Uh uh. Uh uh. No. No. No. That ain't the deal we had. Nuh uh. No. I got you the cane that the big ol hairy dude made. Now you need to hook me up! Hook me up, yeah! Hol-Hold on, I'm losing signal. Hold- I said I'm losing signal. I said... Hold on... I can't... Hold on," The Grizz replied.

"You catch that, Bentley?" Sly asked.

"Yeah, sounds like he's talking to Le Paradox and there's trouble. Don't lose him," Bentley replied.

"Yo, I'm rolling! So bad it ain't fair! The Grizz will teach Le Paradox don't mess with a bear!" The Grizz rapped.

"Seriously, why wasn't this guy a rapper?!" Duncan ranted as he and Sly continued to follow and listen to the Grizz. Finally, they were just outside the Grizz's fortress and his phone rang again.

"Now let me tell you how it is! I am an artist! I got paintings to create! And I ain't putting up with anymore of your excuses! Now you get me the eggs I need for my paint! Or I climb through this phone and squeeze them out of you myself! You got that playa?!" The Grizz demanded, only for Le Paradox to hang up on him. "Hello? Hello? Why you gotta do that? DANG!" He then smashed the phone and walked inside.

"NO! The phone!" Bentley panicked.

"I'm gonna guess that no meant you didn't the code?" Duncan asked.

"Don't worry, boys," Carmelita said as she walked over. Duncan and Sly jumped down from the poles they were standing on to meet her. "I was able to get the codes to get in and the blueprints from the Grizz's fortress,"

"That's my girl," Sly said.

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

All right. The time has come to deal with Grizz. This guy is a menace to the time continuum. Not to mention the arts. And it's time to shut him and his counterfeit cave painting production down. It appears he's already beefed up security. So he's probably expecting us. But thanks to Carmelita, we have complete schematics of his mountain base. So once we get inside, I'll be able to target the egg vats and make sure they're scrambled. Just a little... egg humor. Heh. _Several boos were heard in the background._ Next, Bob you'll and Hunter need to climb the main generator tower and pry the pressure valves open to completely disrupt power. That should start a fatal chain reaction in the system. Murray, at this point you'll have to get to the master control panel and make sure no one can reset the system before the damage is done. Of course, you'll need to use your pugilistic skills on any guards that might get in your way. After this, the system will be completely disabled and we can do a little bear hunting. Sly, it'll be your job to take down Grizz when we find him. Well that's the plan. You should all be clear on what needs to be done. So let's get out there and put this bear on ice," Bentley said.

* * *

"Hunter! Uncle Murray!" Duncan cried. After Hunter and Bob had finished their part, they jumped onto the egg carriers the group was using to get around. However, Bob mistimed his jump and was about to fall, when Murray jumped into to try and save him along with Hunter. This caused them both to fall into another egg carrier.

"Don't worry D! We're okay! I think…" Hunter replied.

"We'll meet up with you guys once we find out where we are going!" Murray added.

"Drat! Without Murray, we don't have anyone covering the control panel! Sly, Duncan! Get over there and take out that guard!" Bentley ordered.

"Roger that, Uncle Bentley!" Duncan said as he and Sly jumped off their egg carrier. Using their paragliders, they were able to use some steam vents to make it to the control panel in time and knock the guard out.

"All taken care off," Sly said.

"Now let's go find Hunter and Uncle Murray," Duncan said.

* * *

"Why are you hitting yourself?!" Murray said as he pounded Grizz's left hand into his face.

"Why are you hitting yourself?!" Hunter echoed as he pounded Grizz's right hand into his face. After they had reached him, Grizz revealed that he wanted to be an ice skater and had challenged them to a fight. Hunter, not wanting to embarrass himself by skating on the ice, froze Grizz's feet to the ground, letting him and Murray wail away at him.

"I think you've k-knocked out all of his teeth," Maverick noted.

"Can I keep one?" Buck asked as he picked up one of the teeth.

"Already, I think you guys have had your fun," Duncan said. "Let's get going,"

* * *

 **Before I say anything else, in the chapters** _ **Honor Among Thieves**_ **and** _ **I Smell a Rat**_ **, I changed the dialogue a little(and gave Duncan an extra mutation). So yeah, this chapter is done. Speaking of this chapter it was kinda….eh. A few missions were fun and I liked the idea, but it was kinda bland. It also has the honor of having my** _ **LEAST FAVORITE MISSION IN THE SERIES: GETTING STRONGER!**_ **That stupid balancing game caused me so many game overs! Bob is kinda the same as the chapter itself. He had some good moments, but he was still pretty eh. But the Grizz, much like Toothpick was the highlight of the chapter. He was super funny, actually had a pretty good plan and Murray boss fights are always fun. So what's next?**

 _ **Of Mice and Mechs**_ … **...**


	43. Of Mice and Mechs

**I figured sent most of you were asking about the same thing, I would just do this. The main event of this chapter may be one of the most hated video game moments in history:**

 **Penelope's betrayal.**

 **I remember seeing people saying that Sly 4 would have been their favorite game in the series if not for this plot twist and the cliffhanger ending. While I was one of the people that was able to look past those moments to call Sly 4 my favorite game, I really disliked both moments as well. So, what I am I doing about it? Why don't we get into that? Let's begin...**

* * *

Once the gang was able to reconnect with Mz. Ruby, she pointed them towards Medieval England. The Grizz's crown was perfect object to get there with, so there was no delay. Upon arrival, Sly and Duncan had headed out to find Sir Galleth Cooper, who was both a gallant knight and a master thief. But instead of that, they found he was reduced to performing as a jester in a circus. This time, however, it was clear that the main guards weren't even trying to fit in. They were clearly robots. Seeing this only increased Bentley's worries about Penelope, even if he was trying his best not to show it. Duncan wasn't saying anything, but he also worried. He had grown attached to Penelope in the seven year time gap.

* * *

Duncan sighed as he looked at one of the pictures in his wallet. It was of him and Penelope when he was fifteen. Sly, despite having started to remember some things, still remembered barely anything about Duncan. In order to help him get his mind off of things, Penelope had taken him, Buck, Hunter and Maverick sledding. Duncan was pretty sure that was the few times he had actually had a good time in two years. With yet another sigh, Duncan shut the wallet and walked into the main room of the safe house. Sly had gone out so Bentley could make him a costume to get into the circus. He must have finished as he was modeling said outfit for the rest of the gang. It was a Robin Hood style outfit, complete with matching bow.

"Look who finally decided to show up!" Hunter laughed.

"Sorry about that, got a little lost in thought," Duncan lied.

"Well, you better not do that when you are in that circus tent. My readings have picked up on some energy readings that should not be in the circus of this era in time," Bentley said.

"I thought just dad was going," Duncan said.

"Nope, your coming. I could use the backup in this place," Sly pointed out.

"Fair enough," Duncan conceded as he followed Sly out.

* * *

 **Job 1: Juggling Act**

"WHAT KIND OF TWISTED TORTURE IS THIS?!" Duncan screamed as he narrowly avoided getting roasted by wall mounted flamethrowers. The whole circus was a combination of fire, cannonballs, tightropes, clown horns and walking across tightropes while flaming cannonballs were being shot at you from the clown horns. In between his fear of clowns and everything else, this was the first time in years that Duncan desperately wished that he wasn't on this mission.

"DON'T KNOW I!" Scruffy hollered back to him. **(I DON'T KNOW!)** Duncan could feel the little spider clinging to his head.

"Would both of you calm down?" Sly asked as he started to rub his son's back. "It's only a little farther from here. You can rest for a bit when you get back to the hideout,"

"I just want a mission that doesn't involve coming back here." Duncan pointed. Then he turned his head and saw a clown painting. "GAH!"

"Seriously, what is it with you and clowns?" Sly asked.

"A late night watching of that movie with the creepy clown when I was six," Duncan admitted. Sly face-palmed.

"How did I not figure that out?" Sly mused.

"Let's just keep going. I think I can see Galleth from here," Duncan noted. Sure enough, Galleth was seated at the top of a large tower. It didn't take very long to climb up it.

"Hey, Sir Galleth!" Sly said, getting his attention. "We're here to rescue you,"

"I am in no need of rescuing. In fact, I am not a prisoner of this place no longer! I am...merely biding my time," Galleth replied.

"Well, alright then," Duncan said. "If you want to "bide your time" with all the cannonballs and fire, who are we to stop you?" He and Sly then faked turning around.

"Wait! You make a valid point. The time of waiting is over! We shall strike a fearsome blow against the tyrant who imprisoned me here!" Galleth declared.

"Whoa, let's just get out of here first," Duncan said.

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

Once they managed to Galleth back to the hideout(He kept trying to storm the castle), Duncan and Sly got him to explain things. As it turns out, the area was now held in the grip of a Black Knight, that had technology had did _not_ belong in the time period. After putting up an impressive fight, Galleth had gotten captured. Once they stopped Galleth from going after the Black Knight, Bentley searched every criminal database he could think of, but found nothing! This was going to be a long ride.

* * *

 **Job 2: Cane Swipe**

"Okay, there is someone inside of that thing!" Duncan exclaimed as the Black Knight walked out of the castle, a tightly locked case and two guards behind it.

"Duncan! It appears the Black Knight has a patrol moving an object in a locked case through the town. From the level of security, I bet the farm it's Galleth's cane," Bentley said.

"...Have you farm a?" Scruffy asked. **(You have a farm?)**

"Just get over there! If what Galleth says is true, the Black Knight almost never leaves his castle. And when he does, it's only to briefly visit the Blacksmith Shop. This may be the one opportunity we have to steal the cane back!" Bentley ordered. "Actually, before you make a move, get some pictures of the Black Knight and that case. We need to figure out who and what we're dealing with,"

"Already on it," Duncan said as he pulled out his binocucom.

"This thing looks kinda like a mech suit," Duncan said as he snapped a picture of the Black Knight.

"Duncan, get a shot of that security case. I need to see that lock," Bentley noted.

"On it," Duncan said as he snapped a picture of the case.

"I can crack that thing with my eyes closed!" Bentley bragged. "But just get to that case before they reach the Blacksmith Shop, and I'll hack it remotely,"

It was Duncan's turn to brag. "I can do that in my sleep," He started following the guards, using a stealth takedown on the first, then crouching down and turning invisible when the other guard and the Black Knight would turn around. He then repeated that when taking on the second guard. He then made his way over to the case.

"Time to crack that case!" Bentley said as he started hacking. About a minute later, the case opened and Duncan grabbed the cane.

* * *

 **Job Complete!**

* * *

"Okay everyone! Now that we got Galleth's cane back, we can begin to take down the Black Knight's operations! First things first, Galleth will need to destroy the Black Knight's surveillance balloons. Hunter, you and Buck will be investigating rumors of a dragon in the caves. I think it's crazy, but we should still take a look, just to make sure. As for myself, Sly, Murray, and Carmelita, we will be taking down each of the Black Knight's facilities. Finally, Duncan and Maverick will be seeing just what the Black Knight has been doing in the blacksmith's. I don't think it's crafting armor…" Bentley explained each member's roles with a very serious tone of voice. Duncan had a good feeling he knew why.

* * *

 **Job 3: Missing Links(aka Shell Shocked Heart)**

"Man, it's been too long since we have done a job together!" Duncan said as Maverick finished hacking his way into the blacksmith's.

"I know, right?" Maverick replied.

"We really need to catch up," Duncan joked, causing both boys to laugh. They needed to go through the roof, but Maverick had just opened a hatch on top.

"After you," Maverick joked as he held the hatch open and gestured for Duncan to go in.

"Thank you kind sir," Duncan replied, causing more laughter.

"Shhh! He here comes!" Scruffy said. **(Here he comes** )

"I thought Le Paradox had promised me that I would be free of those blasted Coopers. Well I suppose even he could make a mistake," The Black Knight said. Duncan shuddered. It _couldn't_ be!

"Duncan, w-w-what's wrong?" Maverick asked.

"The voice...sounds familiar," Duncan replied after a few seconds.

"Let's keep m-moving," Maverick said.

"Hey, that's my line!" Duncan joked. The boys followed the Knight farther in, with Maverick having use his drone to hit some switches at some points. Finally, they followed the Black Knight into what they could only guess was the final room. There was a bunch of unfinished robot guards, various machines, and a darked jail cell. Suddenly, a hatch in the Black Knight opened up and out came….

" _Arpeggio_!?" Duncan and Scruffy exclaimed. Sure enough, the former leader of the Klaww gang was the Black Knight. He looked a lot less refined and he was using what looked like a wheelchair with monster truck wheels to get around.

"I t-t-thought you said he was d-d-dead!" Maverick said.

"I thought he was! But mom did say they never found the body…" Duncan trailed off.

"Coopers...why do they still continue to haunt me? That...incident with Clockwerk was thirteen years ago! But no matter! I still hold my trump card," Arpeggio ranted as moved over to the jail cell and turned on the light revealing…

" _PENELOPE!_ " Duncan nearly screamed. It was taking all of his self-control not to turn Arpeggio into chicken fingers right about now.

"Enjoying your stay?" Arpeggio asked as Penelope made her way over to the bars to face him. Duncan could see from here that one of her legs had a chain wrapped around it and she had a limp in the other.

"No, thanks for asking," Penelope said, her voice was hoarse. Maverick put his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"I still refuse to believe that a genius such as yourself would have any reason to continue to refuse to assist the other great minds. Yet you do, in favor of common thieves," Arpeggio said.

"I have my reasons, one of which is that I _really_ don't like being kidnapped," Penelope replied. Duncan silently gasped, that was why Penelope went missing!

"Tsk, tsk. You were merely letting your talents be wasted. A time machine! Incredible!" Arpeggio said before turning nasty again. "But, I'm sure you'll start seeing things our way very soon…" He trailed off and opened up the cell. All three eavesdroppers knew what was coming and turned away, shutting their eyes.

But it didn't help.

All three could here the crack of the whip and Penelope's screams and pleads for it to stop. Finally, it ended and all that was left of the noise was Penelope's whimpers.

"I know this is a horrible idea, but we are all in agreement that we aren't leaving her here right?" Duncan asked.

"D-d-d-definitely not," Maverick said. Both boys jumped down and Duncan quickly started trying to pick the lock. Penelope perked up as soon as she saw who was trying to get the cell open.

"Duncan!" Penelope said. She practically ran up the bars to meet him once he got the door open.

"I missed you too," Duncan replied as he gave her a hug, doing his best to avoid the injuries. Penelope hugged back and Duncan could feel her tears on his shoulders.

"Was….was Bentley worried about me?" Penelope asked.

"Very," Duncan replied as they broke apart. "Scruffy, you think you could get rid of the ball and chain?"

"Think I could I," Scruffy replied as he got right to work. **(I think I could)**. Once he was finished the chain fell to the floor.

"How are we getting out of here?" Penelope asked. She was leaning on Duncan for support.

"I don't care about being sneaky," Duncan replied. He gave Maverick a nod. The griffin smiled and used his drone to destroy a window.

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

"Sorry in advance if this stings," Duncan said as he started to disinfect and bandage Penelope's wounds, which looked like they had come from more then just a whip. After getting her back to the hideout, it was a flurry of emotions, mostly from Bentley. First happiness, then worry, then rage. Murray had to physically pick up the wheelchair to keep Bentley from going to turn Arpeggio into tomorrow night's dinner. Once everyone had finally settled down, Sly and Sir Galleth had gone out to make bombs in order to get into the castle and Duncan ended up on first aid duty.

"I'm just impressed with how good you are at this," Penelope noted. She flinched a little as Duncan worked on some of the deeper cuts.

"Buck is one of my best friends," Duncan pointed out. Penelope laughed, making Duncan smile. While true, the main point of that answer was to cheer her up a little. Being kidnapped, having to help the enemy of your boyfriend and his friends, getting a very important project stolen from you, and being tortured was pretty upsetting to say the least.

"Her ask you what to wanted this before mess," Scruffy whispered to him. **(Ask her what you wanted to before this mess).**

"Um, I think you're good," Duncan replied. "But before you go, I, uh, wanted to ask you something?"

"Which is?" Penelope asked.

"Um…..would be okay if I started calling you aunt now?" Duncan asked. He was going to guess the bone crushing hug he just got meant yes.

* * *

"Okay, so I'm pretty sure we all want Arpeggio done for at this point," Bentley began yet another Chalk Talk.

"Understatement of the millennium," Duncan replied.

"Anyways, those bombs that Sly and Galleth made should be able to blow the drawbridge open. With that open we should be able to storm the castle and take Arpeggio down!" Bentley said.

"That's…..a super simple plan," Hunter noted.

"It's really all we need," Bentley pointed out.

* * *

"Knock 'em down, Uncle Bentley and Aunt Penelope!" Duncan cheered. Galleth had decided to rush Arpeggio's Black Knight suit and got his cane stolen. Again. He then trapped Sly in the castle courtyard where he tried to kill him with a giant mech suit. Sly was able to take it down with his new Archer costume, but ended up pinned. Before Arpeggio could finish him off, Bentley and Penelope showed up in the remains of the robot dragon that Buck and Hunter had finished off(well, Hunter did. Buck just got eaten by it.) and were using it to fight Arpeggio. Finally, Bentley and Penelope were able to finish Arpeggio off.

* * *

 **SURPRISE! Yep, Penelope** _ **isn't**_ **evil, her and Duncan get a very cute moment, and Arpeggio makes a surprise return. Anyways, seeing as I have already made my thoughts on the original villain of this chapter very clear, I'll just talk about the level itself and the ancestor and I love both. All of the missions were fun including the boss fight(only good part of that twist) but the best part of this chapter by far was SIR FREAKING GALLETH. Good lord was this guy funny as hell. So much ham! Easily my favorite ancestor. So why did I bring Arpeggio back? Well, I felt like he didn't get enough screen time in Sly 2 and I needed a genius villain so he was the best pick. Also no, the Cooper gang** _ **did not**_ **eat him. That would be wrong. Next time, we are off to Ancient Arabia to help the equally ancient Salim Al-Kupar. Peace out.**


	44. 40 Thieves

**Shadow Joestar- The only help they get is what they brought with them for the most part**

 **Foxchick1- Beats me.**

 **Matt- No she is not**

 **Bloodyninja88- Don't worry, that twist will be going as well.**

 **I forget if I mentioned this, but Carmelita is wearing her original outfit from games 1-3. I really hate the outfit in game four because it feels more like she was over-sexualized for...those fans. Okay, time for the penultimate chapter of the game! Let's go!**

* * *

Mz. Ruby once again came through for the gang, giving them the next time period. Ancient Arabia. While Buck badly sang the entire _Aladdin_ soundtrack while Hunter chased him around with a blunt object, Bentley discovered that the ancestor from that period, Salim al-Kupar, was a member of the 40 thieves. It seemed that they may have quite a bit of backup for once.

But if Duncan knew one thing, things never turn out easy.

As it turned out, most of the thieves had already retired and Salim himself was nowhere to be found. To make things worse, Le Paradox had already shown up. He also seemed to be aware that Penelope had gotten free, as the guards were going after any female mice they could find.

(If this was in game, it would be showing a clip of a guard waiting by a cheese stand, with a fearful Penelope and Duncan hiding in a nearby ally)

* * *

"Stupid freaking sand!" Duncan ranted as he dumped out his sneakers. Each one had a good sized pile of sand in them. "And stupid freaking Le Paradox,"

"Tell me about it," Penelope repiled. She had switched out of her prison uniform into a yellow jumpsuit(it's the outfit she wears in game). She had also been forced under "hideout" arrest due to Le Paradox's hunting for her. Naturally, she wasn't too pleased about that. Duncan sat next to his newfound aunt and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, I promise that we are getting through this," Duncan said. Penelope gave him a smile and put her hand on top of his.

"Where's this food you speak off?" A voice that wasn't Murray asked from another room. Duncan and Penelope peaked into the room to see that Sly had found a very old Salim, who was currently stuffing his face with any food he could find.

"Are sure you got the right guy?" Duncan asked.

* * *

As it turned out, they had gotten the right guy. Salim, once he was very much full, explained everything. He and three remaining thieves had discovered someone called Miss Decibel had just rolled into town one day and started throwing lots of money around. He and the last three thieves had decided to pull one final heist on Miss Decibel. However, being a time traveller, Miss Decibel had the tech to capture all three thieves with ease and Salim had been trying to come with a plan to rescue them. When Sly and Bentley explained what was going on, the whole thing made some strange kind of sense to him. But he still didn't fully trust the gang. Duncan rolled his eyes. They were going to have prove themselves again.

As for Miss Decibel herself, life started pretty well. She was born into a wealthy British family and developed a taste for classical music. There was just one problem.

She was _terrible_ at playing it.

That fact, plus an extremely bad temper that Duncan could safely call just as bad as his former Total Drama competitor Eva, if not worse, lead to an accident that changed her life. A trumpet got stuck in her trunk. She could now hypnotise anyone who heard the music.

* * *

After Sly found out where Miss Decibel was keeping the three thieves(and found out that she and Le Paradox were in a relationship), Bentley put together another Chalk Talk.

"Okay everyone, we need to get those thieves free ASAP! If they finish those documents, Le Paradox will be untouchable in the modern time," Bentley began. The documents in question were used so that Le Paradox could forge a false royal identity for himself. "First, myself and Salim will need to free the 'The Panther' from the rug shop. Next, Duncan Maverick, and Murray will need to free 'The Tiger' from the taxi shop. Be warned, I don't have a good feeling about that place. Finally, Penelope will need to use the RC chopper to create a smokescreen so that Duncan, Salim and Sly can free 'The Lion'. With any luck, we can get them out before those documents are finished,"

* * *

 **Job 1: Copy Cats**

"Okay, I know this is risky, but I have an idea," Duncan said to Murray and Maverick once they arrived at the location of the 'The Tiger'. They could see him from where they walked in, but he was being blocked by a large pit of spikes and the only way over, crawling along the wall, was booby trapped.

"Let's hear it," Murray said.

"You toss me over and then Maverick flies over to join me," Duncan said.

"You're gonna go splat a-against the w-w-wall!" Maverick pointed out.

"Oh relax, I've got my paraglider to slow me down," Duncan assured his friend. After Murray threw him, the next thing Duncan remember was his face smashing into the wall. Even with the paraglider, he couldn't slow down in time

"Are you okay?!" Maverick called to him.

"Yep! Just have a pounding headache," Duncan groaned.

"A and nose bloody!" Scruffy added. **(And a bloody nose)** Duncan felt the area under his nose and sure enough, there was blood.

"Lovely," Duncan groaned as he grabbed a nearby rag and ripped it in half, before shoving both pieces into his nose.

"And done!" Maverick said. The music that had been hypnotizing the 'The Tiger'.

"Ugh, my head," 'The Tiger' groaned.

"Tell me about it," Duncan replied.

* * *

 **Job Complete**

* * *

"Not. One. Word," Duncan said, stopping Buck and Hunter right on the edge. Maverick had gone out to help plant a bug in Miss Decibel's office. When he turned up complaining about his headache and nose, Duncan was forced to admit what had happened to him and wasn't in the mood for jokes. Because of his injuries, he was forced to skip the mission to free "The Lion". Duncan sighed. He just hoped he was ready for when they had to fight Miss Decibel and Le Paradox.

* * *

"Okay everyone, here's the plan. Le Paradox is planning to head to the present with the documents in hand. We need to distract those guards. But I have no idea how," Bentley explained.

"I think we may have a solution for that," Penelope offered

"Which is?"

"Well, when everyone was busy, I snuck Penelope out and we….got a few belly dancing lessons," Carmelita sheepishly admitted.

"That's the plan, no ifs ands or buts," Sly announced. Behind him, Duncan rolled his eyes.

"O...kay," Bentley said. "With that taken care of, I'll use the RC car to lure the guards away from the control panel. With that, we should be able to stop both Miss Decibel and Le Paradox!" Bentley declared.

* * *

"Carmelita/Mom!" Duncan and Sly exclaimed.

"Penelope!" Bentley panicked. Everything seemed to be going to plan. Then a fail-safe activated. Then Miss Decibel showed up with an unconscious Salim. Then, after beating her, Le Paradox revealed he had Salim's cane and Carmelita and Penelope.

"Au revoir, Coopers!" Le Paradox taunted as he time jumped away. Duncan just broke down, gripping his father's shoulder.

For once, the Coopers had truly failed.

* * *

"Are you guys really giving up?" Duncan asked once had calmed himself down. One of the reason he truly prefered his new life to his old one was the fact he always had a shoulder to cry on.

"Hey, you were the guy that started crying," Hunter snapped.

"I know, but we don't give up! We may be down, but we're sure as hell not out!" Duncan railed. Everyone realized he was right and jumped into the time machine to head home. No one knew what would be waiting for them, but they all knew one thing.

They were in for the fight of their lives.

* * *

 **I know this is shorter one, but everything in this chapter was kinda forgettable. Miss Decibel was bland(but she had an awesome boss fight, I will give her that). Salim was okay and all the missions were mostly standard. Anyways next time, we finally take down Le Paradox!**


	45. Deja Vu All Over Again!

**Gamelover41592- Because only Sly would have fought her**

 **Shadow Joestar- Stinky indeed**

 **Bloodyninja88- I think all fans want a game five**

 **Anyways, it's time for the final chapter of the final game(so far). Let's begin.**

* * *

Duncan barely recognized the place he called home. Le Paradox had taken over, seeing how his face covered the city of Paris like a virus. On the way to his blimp, Bentley did a little dirt digging and learned that Le Paradox was actually from a family of thieves himself. Unlike the Coopers however….they weren't very good at it. Then a major discovery was made. Sly's father had become famous, or rather infamous for his theft of the world largest diamond. However Le Paradox's father was going to steal it first along with framing Sly's father for the crime. But he was caught after Sly's father stole it and fled. With no one to teach him the skills, it wasn't long until Le Paradox landed himself in jail. The contacts he had here were what truly helped him become the thief he was. He needed to be stopped but first, they needed to save Carmelita and Penelope.

* * *

"This could not be a more obvious trap if there was a glowing sign that said 'this is a trap' on it," Hunter snarked, once he climbed into the blimp along with Sly, Duncan, Maverick, and Buck. The 'trap' in question was a tied up Carmelita and Penelope(who were back in their normal clothes….for some reason. All it did was make Duncan very concerned) with the only light in a pitch black room.

"I know, but I think one of us may need to fall for it," Sly said as he started walking forward, only for Duncan to stop him.

"I have a better idea," Duncan revealed. "Hunter, aim a shot above mom and Aunt Penelope," With a smirk, Hunter fired, hitting Le Paradox dead on. This turned the lights on, revealing he had a large glass jar ready to capture Sly.

"How did you foil my clever trap?!" Le Paradox asked.

"Um, that wasn't clever at all," Maverick said in a surprisingly deadpan voice.

"No kidding," Duncan replied as he finished helping Sly untie Carmelita and Penelope.

"No matter! I still hold all of the canes!" Le Paradox bragged before fleeing.

"That's what he thinks!" Murray said as he and Bentley arrived, the Cooper ancestors in tow.

"Now we are talking!" Duncan cheered.

* * *

From there, it wasn't too hard to gather everyone's canes. Either because Le Paradox liked irony or because he was a moron(Duncan had a strong feeling for the latter), all of the cane's holding spots were guard by obstacles that at least one of the ancestors could reach. After getting their own and helping reach another, the ancestors were returned to their correct time period. Finally they reached Le Paradox with Tennessee's help.

"Reckon my time here is up," He said before tipping his hat and fading away.

"Take care Tennessee!" Bentley called after him.

"You Coopers are very good at foiling my plans," Le Paradox noted.

"What's your problem with us?" Duncan asked.

"The problem?! The problem is you Coopers! You destroyed my father and you almost got me! But not quite. And when I rebuilt myself, I swore I would erase the Cooper name from history completely! And so today, my revenge will be complete!" Le Paradox vowed. "Behold!" Everyone turned to see an open time vortex.

"What is that?" Buck asked, sounding a bit...afraid?

"That, you ignorant weasel, is the time tunnel. It was yet another amazing work of your little friend, Penelope, before her unfortunate defection," Le Paradox explained as Penelope started trying to make herself look small. Seeing this, Bentley grabbed her hand and Duncan placed his hand on her shoulder.

" _Defection_?" Duncan asked. "You _kidnapped_ her!"

"Bah, it doesn't matter! What matters is that will never have to deal with any of you ever again. Once I send you through, you will be sent all over time...if you survive the journey that is," Le Paradox said as started moving a claw towards the gang, only to hit the time tunnel. "NO!" The tunnel started sucking up anything it could.

"Everyone! Get out of here!" Sly ordered.

"We all need to go right now! That manic just tore a hole in time-space!" Bentley replied.

"I know, but I need to finish this! For the whole Cooper clan!" Sly answered. "Plus, I'm the only one can glide out of here!"

"Dad, I'm staying!" Duncan told him. "I need to be in this fight just as much as you!"

"Fine, but only you! Everyone else go!" Sly ordered. He and Carmelita shared a quick kiss before she feld and Duncan and Sly headed up to Le Paradox. He was a skilled fencer, but with two Coopers fighting him, he was mostly reduced to running. Finally, Duncan and Sly cornered on the tip of the blimp.

"So let us just get one thing straight," Duncan said. "You came after the Coopers because of what happened to your father?"

"No, you imbecile! I came after the Coopers to prove that Le Paradox is the greatest thief who has ever lived! Is there any doubt? " _Yes," Scruffy mumbled from under Duncan's hat_. Ask yourselves this: if the Coopers were truly the greatest thieves in history, and I have stolen their most valued possessions, the what does that make _me_?" Le Paradox asked.

"Um...an _idiot_?" Duncan replied.

"You had it made! You could have been the biggest thief of all time, but you had to target my ancestors and blow your own cover. You exposed your operation because of your ego! No Cooper would've done that," Sly elaborated.

"Also, for the record, can you really say _you_ stole the canes? Seems like all your 'friends' did all the real work," Duncan added in.

"Enjoy your words, Coopers! For they will be your last!" Le Paradox replied. But he was soon eating his own words when Duncan and Sly beat him yet again leaving him hanging for his life off the blimp.

"Oh yeah!" Duncan cheered as he and his father shared a high five.

"Coopers! Please help me!" Le Paradox asked.

"Why should we?" Duncan asked.

"I do not wish to die!" Le Paradox whimpered.

"Well, I guess you can't do much harm from a prison cell," Sly said as he helped him up, only for Le Paradox to steal his paraglider.

"So predictable," Le Paradox taunted.

"We'll find you!" Sly vowed.

"Au contraire, Coopers. I do not believe we will meet again," Le Paradox replied as he jumped off.

"Dad, hang on!" Duncan said as he tackled his father off the blimp, before grabbing onto him and using his own paraglider to land safely near his family, with his.

* * *

 **Three Weeks Later**

* * *

Duncan smiled as he finished his latest entry in the _Thievius Raccoonus_. Le Paradox had been caught and arrested. Everything was back to the way it should have been.

And Duncan still had his family.

Bentley had offered to try and build a portal to find Duncan's home dimension, but he refused the offer. After all, why go back to a world were almost nothing went your way? Duncan smiled as he climbed up the roof of the mansion. He passed by Sly and Carmelita snuggling up with a movie, Bentley and Penelope laughing over something blowing up in their face, and Hunter, Buck, Maverick, and Murray playing video game. This was what a real family did.

"I never want to go back!" Duncan announced to the heavens with more pride and glee then should have been even possible, before letting off a mighty roar.

* * *

" **Did you fix it?** " The cloaked figure asked his partner as he reappeared in the dark building, The Contessa, General Tsao, and El Jefe behind him.

"No, but I was able to convert much of the remaining energy into a very powerful source of power," The partner, a female replied.

" **Very well, but we will still need more for this plan,** " The cloaked figure said as he looked over the remains of Clockwerk before laughing.

* * *

 **So Duncan's story has come to an end and that mystery villain has added The Contessa, General Tsao and El Jefe to his little band of villains. As for my thoughts on this job and the main villain? I loved the job itself and it was great to see every single ancestor back for one last hurrah. As for Le Paradox, lame, bland, and with stupid motivations. I kinda wish it was one of Sly's former villains out for revenge. And his boss fight was a glorified quick-time event. As for the next story, go back to chapter 38. We saw Duncan's side and now it's time for Dawn's. See ya then!**


	46. Extra Stuff

Just like Gwen's, here's some random facts, "What Could Have Been"s, and other facts.

-Buck was based on a character by the same name from the Ice Age franchise.

-Duncan has nightmares enough to the point where he often will drink after one to calm himself down

-Several different ideas were tossed around for what was going to happen to Penelope. They include:

-Never going missing at all

-A mole on the inside

-Being brainwashed(which would have been used to bring back the Contessa)

-After learning about it, I almost went with the original plan for the villain in Of Mice and Mechs who was described as "a mole with a drill strapped to his back" for settling on Arpeggio

-Maverick and Hunter were almost villains before I decided I liked the concepts enough to retool them into being Duncan's best friends/brothers

-If you couldn't tell from the last one, the boys see each other as family

-Scruffy was added very late in development of these stories

-The boys are big fans of the music artist Powerline(from a Goofy Movie)

-Duncan has had moments where he lives up to his name as "The Nightmare Cooper"

-No one is a morning person. "When you are up until 4:30 in the morning for three days straight, you're damn right I'm sleeping until 11:00!" (This is something I can picture Duncan saying if asked about it)

-Duncan was planned to have fangs at one point

-Hunter has a personal (smaller) plane

-Everyone(mainly Duncan and the boys) are huge partiers

-Other rooms/additions were added to the mansion by the boys or someone else. These include:

\- A music room/recording studio(for everyone's instruments and for youtube)

\- A personal gym

\- A second garage for Duncan's motorbike

\- A landing strip behind the house(Hey, Hunter's got to put the plane somewhere)

-A basketball court

-Soccer nets

-Duncan's trench coat was based on Carmen Sandiego's. He was also supposed to have a hat like hers, but I cut it because I felt it didn't fit him.

That's about it for now! I'll add to it if I come up anything. Next week, I should be starting Dawn's story(I'll be away over the weekend :P)


End file.
